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CIVIL-WAR ECHOES 

CHARACTER SKETCHES 

AND 

STATE SECRETS 



A UNITED STATES SENATOR'S 
SON AND SECRETARY 



HAMILTON GAY HOWARD, A.B. 

[attorney and counselor of the supreme courts of MICHIGAN. 
ILLINOIS. CALIFORNIA. AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA] 



ILLUSTRATED BY 
V. FLOYD CAMPBELL 



History is never more attractive than when it represents to us on the 
scene, the actors of great transactions; opens, as it were, the doors of their 
most secret councils to the curiosity of the reader, and procures him, with- 
out the compulsion of a literary dictatorat, the pleasing task of judging for 
himself of public men and measures." 

(Preface to "Secret Debates; Convention of 1787.") 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 
HOWARD PUBLISHING COMPANY 
1907 






^IjBRARY 9i CONCRESSI 
J Two Conies Racelvod > 

I JUL 17 lyur I 

\ ^ OpyneM Entry 
iU\SS'Cl XXc.No 



THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO 

THE PRESERVERS 

O F 

THE "one and inseparable" FEDERAL UNION 

"THE UNITED STATES 
OF AMERICA" 

WHETHER IN 

COURT, CONGRESS, CABINET, OR CARNAGE OF WAR 

(18 6 1-18 7 1) 



BY THE AUTHOR 
A. D. 1907 



COPYRIGHT, 1907 

BY THE HOWARD PUBLISHING CO. 

WASHINGTON, D. C. 



PREFACE 

The following somewhat hastily written pages of discon- 
nected, personal and public historical reminiscences are the 
result of urgent requests of friends of both sexes to preserve 
for public use and information some interesting facts 
coming under my own observation of what may, in a sense, 
be termed unpublished history of the Civil-war Days of the 
Republic. 

The task, more and more agreeable as it progressed, was 
done during the silent leisure hours of the night, after pro- 
fessional work had been finished, several years ago ; the 
manuscript was laid away in the meantime awaiting a 
favorable opportunity for publication, which it is believed 
has now arrived. No apology is offered for its appearance. 

Any literary work that adds a spark of truth to the 
gloriously illuminated era of those "days that tried mens' 
souls," or that may recall the minds of the present genera- 
tion to the great patriotic actors therein, whether in 
Legislative Hall, Cabinet Council, Supreme Court, or Field 
of Battle, can but stimulate renewed love of our regenerated 
and disenthralled Nation and of the everlasting principles 
of universal human brotherhood upon which it is founded: 
such is the primary object of this book. 

The Author can not omit to call attention to the remark- 
able work of the Illustrator, the late V. Floyd Campbell, of 
Philadelphia, Pa., copied from authentic photographs and 
engravings several years before his demise, when he was in 
his early twenties — one of the most gifted pen and ink 
sketchers the world has ever produced. He was a beloved 
friend of 

The Author. 

Washington, D. C. 
A.D. 1907. 



Extracts from Letters of Commendation 



Hon. Thomas W. Palmer, former United States Senator, United 
States Minister to Spain, and President of the World's Fair 
Commission (Chicago, A. D. 1892), writes: 

"The parts which I have heard are highly entertaining, and 
appear to me a valuable contribution to the history of the times of 
which they treat, in supplying what has hitherto been unwritten in 
most histories — The personal characteristics of the actors and 

REMINISCENCES WHICH REVEAL CHARACTER MORE THAN PUBLIC ACTS 

OR UTTERANCES. The book should command a ready sale." 



Hon. E. W. Meddaugh, General Counsel of the Grand Trunk Rail- 
way Company, writes: 

"Of his above-entitled book, I can not speak in too high terms. 
It is remarkable in the extensive scope of its character sketches — 
the most delightful of all reading. Over one hundred personages, 
the most historical and renowned of the period, are presented — from 
Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis to 'Beau' Hickman and 
'Wild Bill' (Hickox), each of whom Mr. Howard personally met. 
One chapter is wholly devoted to a brief biography of the author's 
very distinguished father, the author of the Thirteenth Amendment 
of the U. S. Constitution. Historical facts never before in print, 
rare and original poems, fun and pathos, dramatic scenes and inci- 
dents — abound throughout the book, which is equally instructive 
and entertaining. 

"Washington official society, during the period, is depicted with 
fidelity — some of its noted beauties being described, as well as 
notable functions, levees and receptions. 

"The work will be of great value and interest to the 
student of our country's history, to the veteran soldiers, and 
to all lovers of wholesome^ chaste literature, charmingly 
written. It will be the book of the day, and will have large 
sales." 



United States Senator R. A. Alger, former Governor of Michigan, 
Commander Grand Army of the Republic, Secretary of War, 
writes: 

"I shall look forward to your work with a good deal of interest, 
and will be glad to see it given a wide circulation when it comes 
before the public." 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

THE AUTHOR Frontispiece 

Page 

WASHINGTON, aged 54; Mother, and Wife 2 

LINCOLN and Stepmother ; Home of Birth, etc 3 

GRANT, as "General," retired; His Mother 9 

SHERMAN, General William Tecumseh, U. S. Army. 25 

SHERIDAN, General Phillip H., U. S. Army 35 

STANTON, Edwin M., Secretary of War 41 

SEWARD, William H., Secretary of State 51 

SUMNER, Charles, U. S. Senator of Massachusetts. . 55 

WADE, Benjamin F., U. S. Senator of Ohio 61 

LINCOLN and BOOTH 69 

FESSENDEN, William P., U. S. Senator of Maine ; 

seq.. Secretary of U. S. Treasury 75 

TRUMBULL, Lyman, U. S. Senator of Illinois 81 

WILSON, Henry, U. S. Senator of Massachusetts, 

seq., Vice-president 87 

EDMUNDS, George F., U. S. Senator of Vermont. . 93 
MORTON, Oliver P., U. S. Senator of Indiana and 

ex-Governor 99 

CONKLING, Roscoe, U. S. Senator of New York. . . 105 
JOHNSON, Reverdy, U. S. Senator of Maryland; 

seq., U. S. Minister to Great Britain 114 

NYE, James W., U. S. Senator of Nevada 117 

CHANDLER, Zachariah, U. S. Senator of Michigan; 

seq.. Secretary of Interior 123 

SHERMAN, John, U. S. Senator of Ohio ; seq.. Sec- 
retary of Treasury ; Secretary of State 129 

HARLAN, James, U. S. Senator of Iowa ; seq.. Secre- 
tary of Interior 135 

HOWE, Timothy O., U. S. Senator of Wisconsin; seq., 

Postmaster General 141 

DOOLITTLE, James R., U. S. Senator of Wisconsin. 147 
HENDRICKS, Thomas A., U. S. Senator of Indiana ; 

seq., Vice-president 155 

XV 



Illustrations 

Page 
BUCKALEW, Charles R., U. .S. Senator of Pennsyl- 
vania i6i 

BUTLER, Benjamin F., M. C, and Major General 

U. S. Vols. ; Governor of Massachusetts 167 

EVARTS, William M., U. S. Senator, et seq., Secre- 
tary of State 171 

LOGAN, John A., M. C., Major General U. S. V.; 
U. S. Senator of Illinois ; Candidate for Vice-presi- 
dent; Commander, Grand Army of Republic... 177 
BOUTWELL, George S., M. C. of Massachusetts, et 

seq., U. S. Senator; Secretary of the Treasury. . . 185 

STEVENS, Thaddeus, M. C. of Pennsylvania 189 

CAMERON, Simon, U. S. Senator of Pennsylvania. . . 195 
BINGHAM, John A., M. C. of Ohio ; seq., U. S. Min- 
ister to Japan 201 

BANKS, Nathaniel P., M. C. of Mass. ; Speaker U. S. 

Ho. Reps, and Major General U. S. V 207 

SCHENCK, Robert C, M. C. ; Major General 

U. S. V. ; U. S. Minister to Great Britain 213 

COLFAX, Schuyler, Speaker, et seq., Vice-president. . 219 
BLAINE, James G., Speaker Ho. of Reps. ; seq., U. S. 

Senator of Maine ; Candidate for President 223 

SPRAGUE, William, U. S. Senator of Rhode Island. . 225 
YATES, Richard, U. S. Senator of Illinois ; Governor.. 232 
CARPENTER, Matt. H, U. S. Senator of Wisconsin. 238 
MORGAN, U. S. Senator of New York; Governor. . . 244 
HANCOCK, Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott, U. S. Army. . 250 

HICKOX, "Wild Bill," U. S. Scout 256 

WOOD, Fernando, M. C. of New York; Mayor 266 

HOWARD, Jacob M., U. S. Senator of Michigan, ex- 
M. C. and Attorney General ; Author First Plat- 
form Republican Party and 13th Amendment U. S. 

Constitution 269, 279 

CUSTER, Maj. Gen. George A , U. S. Army 300 

xvi 



CONTE NTS 

CHAPTER ONE 

Historical Senators — Descriptive Physical and Psychical 

Analyses 

Charles Sumner — Benjamin F. Wade — Vice-president 
Hannibal Hamlin — William Pitt Fessenden — Lyman Trum- 
bull — Henry Wilson — George F. Edmunds — Oliver P. Mor- 
ton — Roscoe Conkling's Maiden Speech in Senate — James 
W. Nye's Eloquence — Zachariah Chandler — John Sherman 
— William McDougall's Wit — James W. Grimes — ^James 
Harlan — James R. Doolittle — Timothy O. Howe — Reverdy 
Johnson — Thomas A. Hendricks — Willard Saulsbury — 
Richard Yates — Edwin D. Morgan — Alexander Ramsey — 
Morton S. Wilkinson's Dilemma at Inauguration Ball with 
Mrs. Justice M. — Matthew H. Carpenter — Charles D. Drake 
— John B. Henderson, etc., etc., etc. 

CHAPTER TWO 

Abraham Lincoln's Assassination, and Vice-president An- 
drew Johnson's Complicity Therein 

Author's First Call upon Lincoln — Reception at White 
House — Inauguration in 1865 — Lincoln's Appearance — The 
Assassination — Was Andrew Johnson an Accessory Before 
the Fact? — New Evidence — Old Senate Doorkeeper — Gov- 
ernor Saloman's Thrilling Account — Wilkes Booth's Card 
Left for Johnson — Secretary Stanton's Significant Shrug — 
"The Fighting Illinois Parson ;" His Tete-a-tete with 
Madame Surratt — Did the Jesuit Order Have to Do with 
the Conspiracy? — Opinion of Provost Marshal General H. 
H. Wells — Was Mrs. Surratt's Hanging Justifiable? 



xii Contents 

CHAPTER THREE 

Washington Society — Notable Receptions, Levees, and 
Other Social Functions 

Author's Early Diffidence— Mrs. R.'s Reception— Mrs. 
B.'s Ditto— Senator C.'s Ditto— Judge W.'s Ditto— General 
Grant's Ditto— Noted Beauties Described— Colonel John 
W. Forney's Stag Party— Secretary Seward— Senator 
Simon Cameron— Thaddeus Stevens— Fernando C. Wood 
—Henry Winter Davis — General N. P. Banks— General R. 
C. Schenck ("Poker Bob")— Speaker Schuyler Coif ax- 
Supreme Court Justices— Chase, Miller, Davis, Clifford; 
Mr. Philip's Select Stag Parties— Major R.'s Ditto— Eng- 
lish Boatswain's Song— The Negro "Million-'o-airs" Club : 
Their Funny Songs— Poems : "Always," "The Perfect 
One," "The Star-Spangled Banner," etc. 



CHAPTER FOUR 

Greatest Criminal Trial in History— Impeachment of Presi- 
dent Andrew Johnson 

Preliminary Proceedings— State Secrets— Chief Justice 
Chase Refuses to Preside Over the Senate—Dramatic Scene 
—Opening Address by General B. F. Butler— Examination 
of Witnesses— Defense Outlined by Benjamin R. Curtis— 
Wm. M. Evarts and Benj. F. Butler Contrasted— John A. 
Logan's Address, in Part— George S. Boutwell's, Ditto- 
Thomas R. Nelson's, Ditto— William S. Groesbeck's, Ditto— 
Thaddeus Stevens', Ditto— Attorney General Stansberry's, 
Ditto — John A. Bingham's Closing Peroration, and Scenes 
in the Galleries— The Author's Prediction Fulfilled— Why 
the Verdict Was Acquittal, by One Vote. 



Contents xiii 

CHAPTER FIVE 

Flotsam and Jetsam — A Melange 

General Meade's Fear of Removal After Battle of Gettys- 
burg — General Sickles' Confirmation by the Senate as 
Major General; How It Was Done — Fun at General Kil- 
patrick's Headquarters — Review of the Second Army 
Corps — James G. Blaine's Indiscreet Midnight Call — Secre- 
tary Edwin M. Stanton's Violent Talk about French Occu- 
pation of Mexico ; His Characteristics — A Trip Across the 
Plains with General Hancock ; His Title as "The Superb," 
Justly Earned — Grand Buffalo Hunt — Mrs. General Cus- 
ter — Humorous Irish Surgeon ; His Songs : "Mary-Eye 
Jane," "Ye'll Come Back Agin," etc.— "Wild Bill," Greatest 
of U. S. Scouts — A Very Pathetic and Picturesque Scene on 
the Plains — Notable Personages at White Sulphur Springs, 
Va. — The Classic Beauty of Miss Margaret Beck, of Ken- 
tucky — An Old-time U. S. Senator of South Carolina ; His 
Views — Jefferson Davis ; How the Author Met Him — 
"Beau" Hickman — Evening with President Grant, at the 
White House. 

CHAPTER SIX 

The Author's Father: Hon. Jacob M. Howard, LL. D., 
United States Senator from Michigan — 1862-18/1 

Member of Twenty-seventh U. S. Congress — Attorney 
General of Michigan Three Successive Terms (1854-60) — 
Author of First State Platform of the Republican Party, 
and Its Godfather — U. S. Senator from Michigan Two 
Terms ('62-71) — Author of the Thirteenth Amendment of 
U. S. Constitution Abolishing Chattel Slavery by Law, etc. 

CHAPTER SEVEN 
Letters from General Custer to Senator Howard 




GEORGE WASHINGTON, MOTHER, AND WIFE 




ABRAHAM LINCOLN, STEPMOTHER, ETC 



CHAPTER ONE 

Historical Senators — Descriptive Physical and Psychical 

Analyses — Most Important Period of Our 

Nation's Existence^ A. D. 1862-71 

Sumner's appearance, mannerisms, etc. — wade's force- 
ful ELOQUENCE AND GESTURES — CONKLING's MAIDEN 

speech in senate, its striking EFFECT ON SUMNER 

NYE's MASTERLY ORATORY MCDOUGAl's WIT — WILSOn's 

placid coolness — EDMUNDS' ALERTNESS FESSENDEN's 

dyspepsia — hendrick's self-confidence — Sherman's 

diffidence — carpenter's CLEAR-CUT LOGIC, ETC. 

Y SON, always do your full duty!" "Never 
trifle with a young girl's affections, my 
boy !" — were the parting words received 
from my respective parents, as on the 
seventh day of September — a day of the 
month dear to memory— in the year 1863, I 
left my parental home to go to Williamstown, Mass., to 
pa^ examination for admission to the century-old Williams 
College, located in that place, having been prepared under 
the care of excellent private tutors with the understanding 
that I was to enter the sophomore class, but I was not at 
the time particularly desirous of entering college, as the 
martial spirit had a strong hold upon my mind. However, 
my father thought that his oldest son was sufficient for his 
quota, and so pacified me somewhat with his permission 
to also enlist in the Union army in case of my inability to 
gain admission to college. Fate reserved me for fields of 
peace, as all the several examinations were successful, and 
I entered as a full-fledged sophomore, in one of the staidest 




Civil-war Echoes — Character 



and most conservative educational institutions in the United 
States. 

At the end of the fall term, by my father's invitation, I 
proceeded to Washington, D. C, there to act as his private 
secretary and clerk of the Senate Committee on Pacific 
Railroads, of which he had recently been selected as chair- 
man ; the room of said committee being on the gallery floor 
of the Senate, and of large dimensions, as that committee 
was at the time the greatest in point of numbers and one 
of the most important in the character of its work and its 
membership. It included as its members John Sherman, of 
Ohio, subsequently Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary 
of State; Henry Wilson, of Massachusetts, afterward Vice- 
president ; ex-Governor Edwin D. Morgan, of New York ; 
John Conness, of California ; James Harlan, of Iowa, after- 
ward President Lincoln's Secretary of the Interior ; Reverdy 
Johnson, of Maryland, afterward U. S. Minister to Great 
Britain ; Jacob Collamer, of Vermont, chairman of the 
Judiciary Committee of the Senate ; Alexander Ramsey, of 
Minnesota, afterward Secretary of War ; B. Gratz Brown, 
of Missouri, afterward candidate for Vice-president; Lyman 
Trumbull, of Illinois, afterward chairman of the Judiciary 
Committee, and Jacob M. Howard, of Michigan, Chairman. 

It was in this period, practically, the legislative work 
on Pacific Railroads began in Congress. Hence it will be 
readily understood how responsible was the work done. 

My father had been a member of the Senate upward of 
a year at the time of my first arrival in Washington. He 
was a man in the prime of life, of great gravity and dignity, 
but possessed also of a very kind and tender heart and a 
certain grim humor which was exceedingly catching when 
he unbent himself. I presented myself to his gaze, arrayed 
in very fashionable attire of New York, where I had 
stopped on my journey — "peg-top" trousers, pointed shoes, 
padded shoulders, steel watch chain, heavy mahogany, col- 



Sketches and State Secrets 



lege cane, and silk tile — my first, and which I sadly indented 
on my initial trip in a Broadway "bus," and a struggling 
"baseball" mustache ! I felt of decided importance ; for 
why shouldn't I ? Wasn't I a "wise fool," Eo<po<; Mo(;o<: 
What youth of that age can't give his father "pointers," 
not only on fashions and social etiquette, but even on 
philosophical and governmental questions as well? How 
much importance youth attaches to the surface of things, 
and with what lofty disdain it looks down upon the sobriety 
and humility of solid worth ! I was truly possessed of an 
immoderate degree of self-satisfaction. 

My father shortly took me upon the floor of the Senate 
to make me acquainted with some of his friends. The first 
one to whom he presented me was Senator Charles Sum- 
ner, saying I was "a young man with a log chain and po- 
liceman's club," at which the great senator from Massachu- 
setts smiled in a kindly way as soon as he saw my father 
had wounded my pride. 

Mr. Sumner arose from his seat quickly, extending his 
hand in a most gracious and courtly way, and while he 
held my hand in his own, expressed his pleasure to meet a 
son of a man for whom he had the highest respect. There 
was nothing stiff or forced or stilted in his words or man- 
ner. It was the unaffected and cordial greeting of a perfect 
gentleman. His personal appearance and attire are well- 
remembered. For a man of his dignity and great promi- 
nence and scholarship, he was a little overdressed ; but 
I was not then entirely free from provincialism, and 
looked upon much attention to dress as incompatible almost 
with scholastic or senatorial greatness ; hence I was at first 
a little disappointed in the great man's appearance. How- 
ever, it was but a few more seconds before he completely 
fascinated me. His dignity and majestic face, and deep, so- 
norous, musical voice captivated me. A sense of profound 
admiration came over me as I gaze3 up into his kindly 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



sparkling eyes and studied his remarkably large fea- 
tures, and strong Jeffersonian face, crowned with a great 
mass of iron-gray hair, parted on the right side of his head 
where there was a sort of a cow-lick that made the forelock 
fall down constantly over his wide and rather full forehead. 
I was, indeed, confronting a great presence — a fearless 
exemplar of generations of one of the noblest stocks that 
have ever lived on this earth — the Puritans — hereditary 
haters of all kinds of oppression. Sumner was a bachelor 
at this time. In height, six feet three inches ; weight, in 
the neighborhood of two hundred pounds ; chest, about 
forty inches ; head, twenty-three inches — a magnificent, 
suave, cultured, polished gentleman with a decided scholarly 
air. A judge of human nature could readily have detected 
an intense egotism and o'er-weening vanity. This was 
shown partly in the restlessness of his eyes in his efforts to 
observe thoroughly all the surroundings while engaged in 
conversation, the almost constant attentions, with his disen- 
gaged hands, to his cravat, his collar, his forelock, the 
twirling of eye-glasses and watch-fob, gazing quickly up 
into the galleries and brushing, with hand, the dust specks 
or dandruff off his coat and vest. 

After this, my first, interview with Senator Sumner, it 
was my custom to spend considerable portion of the day 
during open sessions in the Senate Chamber, and to study 
the peculiarities, idiosyncrasies, and habits of the several 
senators until they became firmly fixed in my memory. My 
estimate as to Sumner was soon confirmed. He was not 
what would be called a sociable man ; rather reserved, po- 
litely cold, ceremonial, but also an intense lover of liberty. 
It was the latter feature of his nature which was the 
"motif" of his whole life, and which, undoubtedly, was the 
cause of his celibacy up to his fifty-fourth year — his dislike 
of any kind of restraint or subjection. 




ULYSSES S. GRANT AND MOTHER 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



At the latter period, he confidentially consulted my father 
as to the advisability of his marrying the lady to whom he 
shortly afterward was united in wedlock, and upon receiving 
a friendly admonition that he was too old and had lived too 
long a bachelor, manifested great impatience and dissatis- 
faction at the suggestion, and expressed in the most 
eulogistic terms his admiration for the lady, saying he could 
not live without her. It is well-known he married the lady, 
a widow, lived unhappily, and after a brief life as a bene- 
dict, was divorced from his quasi-idol, and returned to his 
books and solitary life. Various domestic reasons were 
assigned by friend and foe, which need not be given 
publicity. 

Mr. Sumner's social relations were probably as intimate 
with my father as with any of his friends in the Senate. I 
was informed on one occasion by a gentleman who had just 
left his presence, that he pronounced the latter to be the 
"ablest constitutional lawyer in the Senate" at that time. 
His respect for my father's legal and scholarly acquirements 
was such that he almost habitually consulted him as to the 
character and quality of his most important speeches before 
their delivery, but owing to his predominating trait of self- 
esteem he took the criticisms with poor grace. On being 
kindly admonished that his speeches were too ornate, too 
full of classical quotations and patent attempts to display 
his scholarship, and thus weaken, by comparison, his own 
immediate following sentences, he frankly confessed he 
could not help it, that he did take a special delight in dis- 
playing his own familiarity with writings of the great of 
olden days. So that in his speeches is exhibited the same trait 
of excessive vanity which' I early discovered characterized his 
every movement of head, hand, and eye. It was this weakness 
that primarily caused his downfall in the Senate. His 
colleague, Henry Wilson, once said, in my presence, that 



lO 



Sketches and State Secrets 



"Sumner thought any thing that did not originate in his 
own brain or the Almighty's, was not worthy of considera- 
tion." Owing to his increasing hauteur of bearing and dis- 
appointment in his connubial relations as well as the check 
received to his political ambition in not receiving the ap- 
pointment as Grant's first Secretary of State, a position 
to which he felt he was entitled in consideration of his party 
services and as chairman of the Committee on Foreign 
Relations — and his consequent and subsequent bitter antag- 
onism to Grant's intense desire to acquire the island of San 
Domingo, his old friends began to cool toward him. He 
even avoided his ordinary social intercourse with my father 
because, as chairman of the Committee of Investigation in 
the matter, he had reported favorably as to the advisability 
of securing that valuable naval coaling station. 

Sumner was shortly thereafter deposed from the chair- 
manship of the Committee on Foreign Relations, which he 
had so long honorably and ably filled. From that day he 
seemed to lose faith in his destiny, and lived largely in the 
past until he sank peacefully to rest — a great, good, but vain 
statesman. 

There is a remarkable document on file at the War De- 
partment, the existence of which was unknown until a short 
time ago, when it was accidentally discovered. It is a letter 
written by Charles Pinckney Sumner to the Hon. Philip 
Barbour, of Virginia, Secretary of War under John Ouincy 
Adams, asking for the appointment of his eldest son, Charles 
Sumner, to the Military Academy at West Point. The ap- 
plication was ignored. Charles Sumner went to Harvard 
University instead, and died a Senator of the United States 
and not a disgruntled major of infantry. The letter is writ- 
ten on a paper of fine texture, yellow with age. The pen- 
manship is fine and neat, and very much resembles the 
manuscript of the Senator forty years after. 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



The letter is as follows : 

"Boston, 22 November, 1825. 

"Sir: My eldest son, Charles Sumner, is desirous of being 
admitted as a member of the Military Academy at West Point. 
He will be fifteen years old in January next. He is of good consti- 
tution & in good health, altho unusually studious. He is well 
acquainted with Latin and Greek, is somewhat acquainted with 
Arithmetic & Algebra & French. He is exceedingly well acquainted 
with history and Geography, both ancient and modern. He knows 
the scenes of many of the distinguished battles of ancient and mod- 
ern times, & the characters of the Heroes who figured in them. He 
has a strong sense of patriotic pride; and a devotion to the welfare 
and glory of his country. He is now at the Latin School in Boston, 
& in August next will be qualified to enter the university at Cam- 
bridge. 

"He prefers the academy at West Point. He is the oldest 
grandson of the deceased Maj. Job Sumner, who served with repu- 
tation in the army of the revolution, whose only child I am. 

"It is not proper for me to devote him like Hannibal to a mil- 
itary life, and at the present age I will not attempt it ; but I have 
the most respectful opinion of the education that is generally be- 
stowed upon the Selected Sons of the Republic whether a young 
man is destined to a military or a civil life. 

"I have not merit of my own. If my boy's character and 
qualifications give him any claim to Your good-will, I hope he will 
receive it. I can produce but few certificates in his favor. I ven- 
ture to recommend him myself, as it may possibly be that no other 
recommendation is necessary. Mr. Webster and Judge Strong, if 
questioned, can say whether or not I would recommend anybody, 
son or no son, whom I did not believe to be a person of merit. The 
President Himself may possible not be an utter stranger to my name. 

"I form no unreasonable expectation, & am not liable to any 
painful disappointment, whatever may be the result of this applica- 
tion. 

"I am, sir, your sincerely respected humble servant. 

"CHARLES PINCKNEY SUMNER, 
"To the Honourable Philip Barbour, Secretary of War." 



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Sketches and State Secrets 



My father, also, on the occasion first referred to, pre- 
sented me to a number of other distinguished senators who 
figured largely in shaping, during the most vital period of 
our national existence, the destinies of the Republic. Let 
me describe those whom memory recalls, after a lapse of 
a generation or more, as they impressed the plastic mind 
of an observant northern blooded youth in his teens, who 
was "all eyes and ears." Being a private secretary and 
clerk of a committee, I had the right of entrance and 
sojourn upon the floor of the Senate Chamber, a privilege 
which I utilized to the fullest extent, listening to debates, 
magnificent orations, reports, and rulings of the Vice- 
president or President pro tempore. I usually occupied a 
seat on a sofa, in a quiet corner on the Republican side of 
the chamber, unobserved, but voraciously absorbing the 
great and varied historic scenes. While not especially 
listening to the legislative proceedings I was engaged in 
carefully noting and studying each senator of national fame, 
and so deeply impressed, owing to the high physical ten- 
sion, caused by the existing "War of the Rebellion," which 
permeated the very air of the capitol, that it is not to be 
wondered at I have little difficulty in recalling details, that 
seem as fresh as though they occurred yesterday. I will 
content myself with giving delineations of these distin- 
guished senators as they voluntarily arise in my memory, 
not from their respective merits or relative prominence. I 
see them one by one as they pass along through the aisles 
or corridors, or sit at their desks or stand in their places — 
these mighty, living civic factors who did their part in 
strengthening the Right Arm of the Republic to strike down 
the foe that sought its life — they were firm believers in the 
truth of William Cullen Bryant's ode to 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



FREEDOM 

O FREEDOM ! thou art not, as poets dream, 

A fair young girl, with light and delicate limbs. 

And wavy tresses gushing from the cap 

With which the Roman master crowned his slave 

When he took off the gyves. A bearded man. 

Armed to the teeth, art thou ; one mailed hand 

Grasps the broad shield, and one the sword ; thy brow, 

Glorious in beauty though it be, is scarred 

With tokens of old wars ; thy massive limbs 

Are strong with struggling. Power at thee has launched 

His bolts, and with his lightnings smitten thee ; 

They could not quench the life thou hast from Heaven; 

Merciless Power has dug thy dungeon deep. 

And his swart armorers, by a thousand fires. 

Have forged thy chain ; yet, while he deems thee bound. 

The links are shivered, and the prison-walls 

Fall outward ; terribly thou springest forth. 

As leaps the flame above a burning pile. 

And shoutest to the nations, who return 

Thy shoutings, while the pale Oppressor flies. 



Here comes sturdy, grim-visaged, plainly-attired, swal- 
low-tail coated, colorless face, Benjamin F. Wade, of 
Ohio; a man of intense earnestness, and stamped all over 
with honesty and fearlessness — a splendid specimen of 
the American nobleman — Nature's best. There is no air 
of pomposity or hauteur or vanity about this great man. 
He has a plain, off-hand, homely manner of speech and 
action; a natural-born orator, not of polished periods, but 
of a mighty power and force, who in his terrific outbursts 
of passionate invective and irony, with his deep and pow- 
erful voice as it quivered in all the varied octaves of elo- 
quence, invariably held the close and undivided attention of 
the Senate. He was simple, frank, unpretentious, and given 
to much swearing. As he once said in conversation : 
"Damn it, I can't be emphatic without swearing; I don't 
mean any disrespect to the Deity or to my hearers." Wade 
was not a man of great scholarship or learning, but he was 



Sketches and State Secrets 



full of love of country, of a fund of common sense, of in- 
flexible will, invincible courage and perseverence. He 
was utterly without fear, and an intense hater of hypocrisy, 
sham, chicanery, and pretense ; a man of deep-seated and 
immovable convictions of right and duty. In his speeches 
he was exceedingly strong and effective. As he warmed 
up to his theme his hair would become ruffled and stand up 
like bristles ; he would unbutton his vest, shove up his coat- 
sleeves, tear off his cravat, and, "yank" off his collar, and 
in his most earnest moments, would rise on his toes, holding 
aloft his hands at arms length, and as he brought the latter 
down, he would jump on to his heels — this was his usual 
and most favorite mode of gesture. It was fully as effective 
in its way, as the cold, classical, clean-cut phrases of the 
scholars of the Senate. It roused the fervor and spirit of 
patriotism, and his words became him as chairman of the 
Committee on the Conduct of the War, a position for which 
he was peculiarly well adapted, and in which he rendered 
invaluable and lasting service to his country ; a glorious 
patriot, a fearless fighter, a great statesman, and an honest 
man. 

Wade's height was 5 feet 8^ inches ; weight, 185 pounds ; 
chest, 415^ inches; head, 23 inches; born October 27, 1800. 

My attention is next attracted to Hannibal Hamlin, 
Vice-president of the United States, formerly a sen- 
ator from Maine. He bore a somewhat remarkable facial 
resemblance to the picture and description of Daniel Web- 
ster. He presided over the Senate. When I first saw him 
he was past the meridian of life, of about five feet ten 
inches in height, dark, swarthy, olive complexion, deep-set 
eyes, broad and full forehead, stooping shoulders, and in- 
variably attired in a somewhat rusty suit of broadcloth, 
swallow-tail coat, low vest, and trousers, all black, hands 
in side pockets of the latter almost constantly. One of his 

2Z 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



peculiarities was seldom, if ever, to wear an overcoat or sur- 
tout; no matter how bitterly cold the weather, this old 
patriot might be seen walking with brisk, elastic step, coat 
and vest wide open, silk tile down low over his forehead, 
glancing rapidly to the right and left as he passed over the 
miserable brick sidewalks of Pennsylvania Avenue. As a 
presiding officer over the most august legislative body in 
the world, he reflected great credit upon himself, but was 
wanting in the robust dignity of Solomon Foots, of Ver- 
mont, who was President pro tempore, as well as in his 
ready knowledge of parliamentary law. As a consequence 
he was frequently absent from the chair, which was then 
filled by Footfc, probably one of the best presiding officers 
the Senate has ever had, 

^ William Pitt Fessenden, of Maine^ possessed a 
notable personality. He was rather a slight built man of 
not over five feet ten inches in height, and 130 pounds in 
weight. His head was large and rested stiffly on the 
neck; it seldom turned to the right or the left either in 
speaking or listening. It was a square and level head, 
broad and long from forehead to back. His face was a 
very commanding one, seldom lighted up by a smile, close- 
cut beard with smooth-shaven chin and upper lip, and 
rather sallow complexion, thin lips and stern, firm mouth, 
rather a sour, crabbed, dyspeptic countenance, a steady, 
calm, cool, calculating, deep-seated eye, intelligent, fearless, 
and defiant. His carriage was on the old-time ministerial 
order — slow, precise, deliberate, sedate, senatorial. He was 
not very sociable, being afflicted badly with dyspepsia, which 
terrible malady undoubtedly tinged his mind and tended 
gradually to develop in it a strong conservatism and bitter 
antipathy to the growing radicalism in the Senate about the 
time of the Andrew Johnson impeachment trial. I predicted 
correctly the nature of his final vote, during the pendency 

24 




GENERAL WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN, U. S. A. 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



of that celebrated trial. His style of speaking in debate was 
in consonance with the foregoing description of his person- 
ality. His utterance was unimpassioned and rather profes- 
sorial in character, a sort of conversational, argumenta- 
tive, or rather dogmatic and didactic tone and manner. He 
generally talked while on his feet in the Senate as a pro- 
fessor of mathematics would do in the demonstration of a 
problem in that science. He had little of oratorical tempera- 
ment. He was wanting in the good, warm blood necessary 
to the orator. He took a special delight in dry details. He 
was essentially a financier ; looked at measures largely from 
a commercial and pecuniary standpoint. He was a typical 
specimen of one portion of New England — the frigid 
product of its snow-clad, rugged hills and pine-filled forests. 
He seemed to be annoyed when joked by his fellow senators. 
He was somewhat like Lyman Trumbull, of Illinois, in the 
cold, austere expression of the colorless countenance, the 
schoolmaster frown, and solemnity of visage. 

His colleague was Lot M. Morrill, a genial, plain man, 
the antithesis of Fessenden; an able and ready debater, 
eloquent speaker and as "radical" in his intense patriotism 
as any member of the Senate. 

Lyman Trumbull was chairman of the Judiciary Com- 
mittee, a lawyer of great ability in many respects, a ready 
debater, argumentative rather than judicial in cast of mind, 
timidly conservative, perhaps hypercritical in judgment, 
almost as often wrong as right in his views in committee, on 
great constitutional questions involving states' rights and 
Federal jurisdiction. In personal appearance Trumbull was 
not attractive, either in manner or intercourse. He was 
rather repellant. He invariably dressed in black broadcloth, 
coat never buttoned ; wore large spectacles, gold-rimmed. 
He was originally designed, in personal appearance and 
mentality by the Creator, for an old-time puritan 

26 



Sketches and State Secrets 



preacher and schoolmaster combined, of the period of Jona- 
than Edwards. I seldom saw him smile or heard him 
laugh in public. His physical dimensions were: height, 5 
feet 105^ inches; weight, 150 pounds; chest, SSH inches; 
head, 22 inches ; born October 12, 1813. He always com- 
manded the full attention of the Senate when he spoke, not 
by virtue of his oratory or eloquence, which was only 
mediocre, but from the fact that he was chairman of the 
Judiciary Committee. 

His views on constitutional questions did not carry very 
great weight with Republican leaders on account of his 
well-known conservative timidity. The times called for an 
expansion of the Constitution in consonance with the gravity 
of the dangers threatening the Union. His early training 
as a states' rights Democrat had a tendency to warp and 
contract his constitutional vision. As a natural sequence 
he had to be largely urged along into the extreme but 
necessary measures to uphold the Union. He deplored the 
introduction by my father of the resolution for the sub- 
mission to the state legislatures of the Thirteenth Amend- 
ment — abolishing slavery — and argued in the Judiciary 
Committee against the advisability of its consideration at 
that time as being too early a day. This information was 
given me personally by my father at the time and repeated 
several times subsequently. He is also my authority for 
many of the other statements of facts above given. It 
needed but the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson to 
afford Mr. Trumbull a long-wished-for opportunity to 
abandon the Republican party and return to his first love, 
the Democratic party. I predicted his vote of acquittal of 
President Johnson long before it was given. My opinion 
was based upon my estimate of his mental construction, as 
well as upon a conversation I held with his son and 
secretary, whom I knew quite well, and whom I asked how 
his father was going to vote. I felt justified in making the 

27 



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tUl\.yZ- 



,.^U...^Z^^^yl^ -^J^-L-4^-V— ^ 





29 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



inquiry from the fact of our intimacy. He made me no 
reply at all, which at once gave me negative confirmation 
of my own personal surmises. Senator Trumbull was an 
honest, incorruptible, and able lawyer, but I do not think 
he ever rose to the height of true statesmanship. He had 
the respect, but not the full confidence of the Republican 
leaders. Shortly before his return to the Democratic party 
he charged my father, Sumner, Wade, Chandler, Nye, and 
a few others, in open Senate, with being "factionists," and 
received, therefore, such a verbal castigation from the first- 
named, who, in replying stood within half a dozen feet of 
him, that the usual pallor of his bloodless face increased 
and he sat still and mute with blanched countenance. 

The onslaught was terrific and was never afterward pro- 
voked by the senator from Illinois. 

Here comes Henry Wilson, — whose real name given 
him by his parents was Jeremiah Colbaith, — the junior sena- 
tor from Massachusetts ; plethoric, full-blooded, active, 
quick in speech and movement, full of great executive force 
and bubbling over with human sympathies for the poor and 
oppressed, white and black. He was a clean man, morally, 
and physically ; florid complexion, full cheeks, beardless save 
a little tuft of hair in front of the ears, large high, full, and 
broad forehead, thin and long hirsute covering on his 
head, a quick, brave, tender eye, rather a tearful voice, not 
unpleasant to hear, and at times, in pathetic periods, most 
effective and powerful ; rather a pleading and persuading 
style, but when fully aroused, Wilson had few, if any, 
superiors as an orator on the floor of the Senate. There 
was no affectation about his dress or his manners. He 
was bustling, full of his work, and intensely in earnest in 
everything he undertook. He was wholly abstemious, in 
his habits of living, from the use of any narcotics or alco- 
holics. He was a strong advocate of total abstinence. It 

30 






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/^ ^.^^^^^^ Y ^^-y*^ -^c^-*^ -:^-a-«-^ 



-fe-»^ 



<<s!' org^e^ 



31 



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^^i:,.Oi:<f^:> c^^c 



-:?>^ -e<2^^-2:^*;-s^ . ■^ X^^*,^ 







3^ 



Sketches and State Secrets 



was largely through his individual efforts that the old "Hole 
in the Wall," in the ante-chamber to the old Senate Cham- 
ber, where liquor was quasi-secretly sold, was cleared out 
and closed up. 

I recall an instance of Wilson's quiet dignity and peace- 
fulness, although he was chairman of the Committee on 
Military Affairs, which at the time, gave me a great surprise 
as well as insight into his character. 

He was a member of the Committee on Pacific Railroads, 
as was also John Conness, of California. The latter was 
a fiery, little, thick set, pugnacious, snub-nosed son of the 
"old sod," exceedingly aggressive and intemperate in speech 
when crossed or provoked. He was naturally alert for the 
interest of his section of the Republic, and was rather in- 
clined in committee to resent the slightest reflection upon it. 
At a meeting of that committee — there were eleven mem- 
bers altogether — Mr. Conness, sitting at the side nearest 
the chairman, who sat at the head of a long table, was 
suddenly intensely provoked by some remark, made sotto 
voce, by Mr. Wilson, and springing from his chair, rushed 
up to the latter gentleman who was seated quietly, and in a 
great rage and with violent language, Conness addressed 
him and shook his fist in, close proximity to the latter's face. 
I looked for blood, but Wilson did not even rise, contenting 
himself with looking up at Conness with a steady, fearless, 
and pitying gaze. Instantly the chairman rose to his feet, 
and with great dignity and impressive manner, commanded 
Conness to cease his language of abuse and resume his seat. 
That gentleman at once complied as soon as he realized the 
ungentlemanly deportment. Mr. Wilson said nothing. 
The next morning Mr. Conness sent the chairman a note 
of profuse apologies, accompanied by a large box of Cali- 
fornia wine. Conness was the soul of kindly hospitality, 
and a man of great force of character. I believe he served 
but one term. He was a strong Union man. 

4 33 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



Wilson was not fond of Sumner, his colleague. The lat- 
ter was the cold, stately statesman, evolved from the 
scholar; the former was an impetuous, ambitious, political 
climber up the ladder of fame from the lowly start of a 
shoemaker's bench. There were no fortuitous circumstances 
to help Wilson. He rose by his own inherent strength of 
will and intellect and moral courage. Henry Wilson was a 
great man, of indefatigable industry. He was as much 
fitted for the several places of trust and honor which he 
held as were Lincoln, Stanton, Chase, and the other civil 
heroes of the period. He had a warm heart, a clear brain, 
an intense, earnest patriotism, great moral courage, strong 
faith in an overruling Providence who is guiding this nation 
onward and upward. He stood in height, 5 feet 10 inches ; 
weight, 180 pounds ; chest, 40^ inches ; head, 22^ inches ; 
born February 16, 1812. 

Whenever I looked at George F. Edmunds, of Vermont, 
I was invariably reminded of the old pictures of the saints, 
especially that of St. Jerome, and I was disappointed in 
not descrying the figurative or literal halo that encircled 
that saint's head. He was under forty years of age when 
he entered the Senate, but was decidedly bald, and had a 
pious, sanctimonious appearance. He dressed plainly and 
in good taste. He quickly came to the front in debate, as 
did Oliver P. Morton, of Indiana, both of these great men 
brushing aside without ceremony or apology, the cob- 
webed, unwritten law of abstention from much participa- 
tion in debate during the first year of their senatorial terms ; 
Edmunds entered the Senate several years before Morton. 

His immediate predecessor was Solomon FooTf, a very 
handsome old gentleman, attired in full-dress suit ; of most 
gracious, courtly and dignified manners, clean shaven face, 
fresh, pure complexion, bright, large, and wide open eyes. 
Footfl's especial forte was his proficiency in parliamentary 

34 




GENERAL PHILLIP H. SHERIDAN, U. S. 



C I V I L - w A R Echoes — Character 



law. He had been President pro tempore. His rulings 
would furnish splendid guides for the novitiate in parlia- 
mentary procedure. 

Edmunds at once took leading rank in the Senate as a 
broad-guaged, logical, cool-headed, quick-witted, and 
splendidly-equipped debater and able constitutional lawyer. 
He was essentially a logician. His speeches were entirely 
free from indications of great scholastic attainments ; noth- 
ing of rhetorical flourishes ; nothing for dramatic effect. 
They were generally severely dry and argumentative ; no 
classical interjections, no pedantic allusions or quotations. 
He was satisfied, unlike Sumner, to give his own thoughts 
alone, without interlarding those of the great ones of an- 
tiquity. As a speaker, Edmunds was unattractive to the 
layman, save as he was of a mathematical or logical turn 
of mind. His speeches were occasionally enlivened with 
sparks of a dry humor, and were delivered with a quaintness 
of tone and manner that were utterly devoid of oratory, but 
had a peculiar fascination that is difficult to describe. There 
was an utter absence of emotion save at infrequent spells 
when he would allow a spasm of patriotic fire to burst up 
in his placid soul, and his utterances would rouse the atten- 
tion of the entire Senate — even the stately Sumner would 
cease his everlasting writing over his desk, or his reading 
of newspapers, and look up with approving smile, as much 
as to say : "Why, Edmunds, old boy, that is first rate ; that 
is almost equal to some phrases I once uttered on this 
floor." 

Edmunds was exceedingly quick and dry at repartee. He 
very shortly made himself felt in this respect, and as a con- 
sequence, was soon left severely alone and free from at- 
tempts of older brother senators to "rattle" and subdue or 
snub his apparent presumption in taking so prominent a 
part in the deliberations of the Senate at the outset of his 
career. Edmunds came very near filling Huxley's descrip- 

36 



Sketches and State Secrets 



tion of the perfect man — "a clear, cold, logical engine." He 
was the successor of Trumbull as chairman of the Commit- 
tee on Judiciary, which position he filled with great ability 
for many years. He had the decided New England nasal 
twang, a colorless face, large frame, standing a little over 
six feet; weight 150 pounds; chest, 35/^ inches; head, 22^ 
inches; born February i, 1828. He had the sloping walk of 
the student ; always bore himself with dignity and propriety ; 
was temperate and stately without hauteur or arrogance ; 
not particularly sociable on the floor of the Senate Chamber. 
His colleague was Justin S. Morrill^ chiefly noted as the 
author of the "Morrill Tariff ;" a tall, ministerial, unim- 
pressionable man with a scholarly stoop of the shoulders ; 
not often heard in debate. 

Oliver P. Morton, of Indiana, entered the senate after 
the close of the war ; he had been War Governor. He was 
in every respect, a great and patriotic statesman ; a man of 
most marvelous energies, large, and unceasingly active 
brain, large body, inordinate appetite for eating. He had a 
dark olive, sallow complexion, dark hair with some bald- 
ness on the top of head, mustache and chin whiskers, and a 
terribly pugnacious nose. He possessed a marvelously 
accurate memory for details and figures. It was said he 
could read an ordinary book as rapidly almost as he could 
turn over the leaves. He read it from the left-hand, upper 
corner diagonally down across to the bottom of the page. 
His utterance in his speeches in the Senate was exceedingly 
rapid — almost as much so as Anthony, of Rhode Island, 
who was considered by the Senate reporters as the most 
rapid speaker in either house of Congress. Morton's voice 
was full and commanding and well sustained throughout 
his speech. Shortly after his entrance to the Senate he was 
compelled, by physical infirmity — partial paralysis of the 

Z7 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



legs — to walk with two canes, and to deliver his speeches 
while seated in his chair. 

This infirmity did not seem to dampen, in the least, his 
almost unceasing participation in the debates on about every 
question of moment that arose for deliberative action. 
Morton was a plain, unostentatious, genial, alert, frank, 
open man with his friends — "a. blunt man that loved his 
friends." He had large, steady, fearless eyes with a merry 
twinkle in them. He was, in some senses of the term, an 
orator. He resembled somewhat, "Ben" Wade, in his unaf- 
fected demeanor. His dress was the proverbial black suit, 
swallow-tail coat, etc. He was always a gentleman, exceed- 
ingly polite, and attractive to ladies. He was intensely 
patriotic and devoted to the Union. His services in that 
regard both as Governor of .Indiana, and as a senator from 
the same state were invaluable and inestimable. He was 
one of the ablest "all round" men that has ever sat in either 
house of Congress. He was a sturdy, strong, wholesome, 
fearless, incorruptible statesman ; a grand character that 
will increase in stature as time goes on and history brings 
to view the times that tried men's souls, when the fate of 
the Nation trembled in the balance. 

A senator, whose person it is a pleasure to describe, but 
of whose character it is difficult to make a fitting analysis, 
was RoscoE CoNKLiNG, OF New York. He was, unques- 
tionably, the Hyperion of the Senate, which he entered 
after the close of the war, coming over from the House of 
Representatives. He was most imposing and imperial 
in bearing and in looks. He was as majestic in his deport- 
ment as any monarch or Roman senator that ever lived on 
this earth. Over six feet in height, with the physique and 
physical action of an athlete-gladiator, the grace of move- 
ment of a royal courtier, with a slight tendency to a swagger 
in his walk, or rather with the tread of a man fearless and 

38 



Sketches and State Secrets 



perfectly conscious of his great physical powers, a delib- 
erate and measured, long stride, with toes well turned out; 
elegantly, but not gaudily attired, generally blue, gray, or 
black clothes ; a magnificent chest and pair of shoulders, a 
strong, but not a "bull," neck, around which, was uni- 
formly a turn-down Byronic collar, and resting upon which 
was the large head and the proud face of a Grecian, or 
rather, a Scandinavian deity, surmounted with a not heavy 
clustering mass of curly, light-colored hair of a reddish tint, 
one lock of which hung loosely and carelessly down upon 
the center of his high, broad, and white forehead. Majesty 
sat firmly enthroned upon that brow. Honor, Pride, Incor- 
ruptability, Courage, Scorn, Chivalry were all stamped upon 
that splendidly proud face. The long aquiline nose, with a 
slight curl at the open nostrils, gave to the face the appear- 
ance somewhat of hauteur, which added to his lofty and 
independent bearing, acted as a shield to the approach of any 
attempted familiarity with him at the start. His eyes were 
steel blue, large, clear, strong, and gentle, and his smile 
decidedly winsome, when engaged in conversation, with a 
merry twinkle in them. He was not regarded as particu- 
larly sociable by his brother senators, always preserving a 
stately formality and dignity that forbade undue familiarity 
of speech. He rivaled Sumner in the courtliness of his 
manners. I used to think he was the only senator of whom 
Sumner was jealous. They were considerably alike phy- 
sically, save that Sumner was a brunette, and Conkling was 
a blond. Sumner's voice was the heaviest, in tone and 
volume, of any senator : it was sonorous, deep, and mellow, 
like the roar of a lion, or the bay of a St. Bernard ; the 
latter he greatly resembled in facial characteristics, also, if 
comparison may be made with the lower orders in the 
animal family. Conkling's voice was also exceedingly 
strong, but was inclined rather to a precise, rasping, 
ironical, sarcastic tone. His especial forte was denuncia- 

39 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



tion and aggressive, energetic attack. There was not much 
of pathos in his speeches. He was not for persuasion, as 
much as he was for arousing to speedy action by the force 
of his invective. He would sacrifice any present personal 
advantage to get revenge for a fancied or intended affront 
to his intense egotism. This was illustrated in his first and 
maiden speech delivered in the Senate, and to which I was 
an earnest listener on the floor. The papers announced that 
he would deliver his "maiden speech." The galleries were 
crowded, as was also the space on the floor of the chamber 
behind the desks. Conkling appeared shortly before the 
opening, in company with his white-haired father, a fine- 
looking, tall, old gentleman, a former U. S. District Judge. 
The latter was seated in a chair placed next to that of his 
son's, which was down in the front row, four or five seats 
to the right of the center aisle. At the arrival of the time, 
Conkling arose at his desk, was at once recognized by the 
President pro tempore, as "The senator from New York," 
whereupon he left his desk, going to the right, the longest 
way around back of the back row of seats, with slow and 
deliberate steps, passing close to me as I sat upon a sofa, 
so that I could critically examine his personal appearance — 
on to the central aisle, down which he walked with proudly 
erect and undaunted carriage, and stopped at about the 
very center of the chamber, and with great dignity bowed 
low to the chair, and uttered the first words of a magnificent 
speech. 

This action of Conkling, in leaving his seat and going to 
the central aisle, was unprecedented, and, of course, attracted 
the attention, as well as evoked the surprise, of every senator 
present, who ceased their work at once, save Senator Sum- 
ner, who ignored the whole proceeding and kept on con- 
spicuously reading a newspaper. Conkling stood a moment 
in all his majesty, without notes or manuscript, and slightly 
turned and bowed to the right and left. He was dressed 

40 




EDWIN M. STANTON, SECRETARY OF WAR 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



entirely in black — Prince Albert coat buttoned with one 
button at the waist, the rest open and showing a liberal 
expanse of shirt front, a light blue cravat and Byronic turn- 
down collar, his face pale and the little curl hanging down 
over his forehead. He began slowly and with great delib- 
eration. After a while he warmed up and would turn to 
the right and left, and then look at his aged father who sat 
in seeming rapt admiration at his worthy offspring. Conk- 
ling soon caught sight of Sumner's inattention and plainly- 
intended discourtesy, whereupon he was lashed into a 
furious condition of mind, and turning around and looking 
directly at that senator, heaped upon him sarcasm and 
irony as they were never poured before. They had the 
sting of personal resentment for an assumed personal 
insult in not deeming him of sufficient importance to grant 
him the scant courtesy of listening to this, his maiden 
speech ! As Conkling approached the final climax, Sumner 
violently threw down, on the floor by his side, the newspaper 
he had been fumbling so conspicuously, grabbed the arms 
of his chair with each hand, and immediately upon Conkling 
making his farewell, formal bow to the chair and receding 
up the aisle, the great Massachusetts senator sprang to his 
feet with a bound and, in most thunderous and sepulchral 
tones, after uttering the words, "Mr. President," and look- 
ing around the chamber for fully a minute, and with 
uplifted eyebrows, exclaimed : "We have an orator amongst 
us. We have an orator amongst us !" following it up with 
dignified irony in turn. This was one of Sumner's few 
extemporaneous efforts. 

The following somewhat extended account of Conkling's 
social proclivities is given as corroborative of the estimate 
of his chivalrous character above made, and will doubtless 
interest the reader as revealing a phase not generally known 
to the public. 



42 



Sketches and State Secrets 



How Some Intellectual Giants Enjoyed the Game of "Draw" 

CONKLING, SHERMAN AND SHERIDAN — THEY BLUFFED AND FOUGHT 
WITH WORDS AND CARDS — TWO REMARKABLE HANDS 

"Roscoe Conkling was as fond as the next man of a little game 
of draw," said an elderly Washington clubman, who for a genera- 
tion has been on terms of social intimacy with famous men at this 
capital, "and he was as charming a poker antagonist as ever tried 
to fill an in-the-middle straight or bobbed to a flush. Conkling was 
unquestionably a man of great natural hauteur, yet I have always 
believed and maintained that the somewhat arrogant and domineer- 
ing manner that he exhibited in public, and that often caused him 
to be so thoroughly misunderstood, was more or less of a pose. 
The newspaper writers set him down and paraded him as an Ajax 
from the very beginning of his service here, and it suited Conk- 
ling's fancy, when he perceived that it would be quite impossible 
for him to clear himself of this reputation, to study the part that 
he had perforce to accept, and to portray it with consistence and 
elaboration throughout his public career. But in social life, in 
daily intercourse with men that he knew and liked, Conkling was 
a prince, and as gracious, generous and accomplished a prince, too, 
as ever gained the affectionate esteem and admiration of bis 
friends. 

WITH HIS FRIENDS 

"He liked, I say, to play poker, and during the last four or five 
years of his senatorial life he would drop in at John Chamberlin's 
occasionally while Congress was in session to sit into a game there 
with friends, all of them prominent public men, who liked the 
mental stimulus and excitement of drawing cards, and who were 
always more than willing to engage in a game in which Conkling 
was one of the players — for the cultured intellect and well-stored 
mind of the New York Senator never shone more brightly nor 
more variously than during these memorable sessions at cards with 
his friends. Quite often, those among us who were not fortunate, 
or unfortunate, enough to be swirlers in the vortex of public life 
would be invited to take a hand at these delightful poker seances ; 
and I, for one, possess no more valued recollections than those that 
often recur to my mind of the dozen or so occasions on which I 
played draw poker with Roscoe Conkling sitting opposite to me. 

WHEN CONKLING AND SHERMAN CROSSED CARDS 

"General Phil Sheridan was often one of the players at these 
meetings, and when General Sherman was living in Washington 
he, too, would occasionally happen around when the game at Cham- 
berlin's was in progress and take a hand. With Conkling and Sher- 

43 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



man in the game, the talk at the poker table was a good deal more 
interesting to some of us than the game itself, for both men would 
constantly exchange witty dabs at each other, and the oral sparring 
between these two remarkable men was brilliant and entertaining 
in the extreme. Their pokes at each other were always perfectly 
good-natured and harmless. Dififerent as they were in profession 
and temperament, Conkling and Sherman were about evenly 
matched in wit, and their mastery of repartee, and both men seemed 
to find huge pleasure in practising on each other in their hours of 
relaxation, especially at these card meetings. 

" 'Conkling,' said Sherman one night to the New York Senator 
when the game was in progress, 'that Hyperoin curl of yours may 
now assume an added twist, the effect of woe, and that Hercules 
chest prepare to array itself in a tunic of penitential sack-cloth— for 
I've got you licked. Full house, jacks up on eights/ and Sherman 
spread his hand out on the table. 

" 'Sherman,' said Conkling, a beatific smile flickering at the 
corners of his mouth, 'when ycfu marched to the sea at the exceed- 
ingly theatrical period of your career, and reached the sea, had it 
not been better for you if you had kept right on marching, even 
to the point of complete and final submersion, thus to have spared 
yourself the mortification of being thrashed right out of your boots 
at this epoch of your history by a mere civilian? Four sevens,' and 
Conkling raked in the pot with a flourish, grizzled 'Old Tecump' 
chewing the butt of his cigar thoughtfully. 

NO QUARTER WITH SHERIDAN 

"But Conkling played his hardest against General Sheridan. The 
two men were great chums and confidants, but when they got into 
a poker game together it was, of course, in a good-natured sort of 
way, give and take and no quarter. When Sheridan was in the 
game Conkling simply devoted all of his study and skill to the task 
of beating the hero of Winchester, and, on the other hand, "Little 
Phil" would pay hardly any attention at all to the other players, he 
was so eager to roast his friend Conkling. Very often the rest of us 
would, at a sort of tacitly understood signal, drop out, even when 
we had good, playable hands, just for the fun of seeing Conkling 
and Sheridan at each other's throats. 

" 'Phil,' said Conkling one night when he thought his hand was 
invincible, 'be advised. I have your interest at heart. We all ad- 
mire your historical and present rashness — but, Phil, be advised. 
Consider your natural aversion to a pipe; if you proceed with me 
on this, you'll be compelled to smoke a pipe practically until your 
retirement. This time, you are not alone twenty miles away; you 
are 20,000, 20,000,000, miles in the distance, and you really can't 
traverse the ground. Call me.' 

44 



Sketches and State Secrets 



" 'Conkling,' replied 'Little Phil,' with those two red fighting spots 
of his burning brightly on his cheekbones, 'you're a stupendous 
bluffer, and I'll see you dangling from that sour apple tree of yours 
first. I raise you the limit.' 

" 'In that case,' said Conkling, stuffing his hand into the deck, 'the 
pot's yours — not that I haven't got you beat, of course, but ' 

"And, Conkling caught red-handed in one of his Brobdignagian 
bluffs, took with the greatest good nature the long laugh that we 
all gave him. 

A MEMORABLE CONTEST 

"I was in the game one night during the winter of '75 when both 
Conkling and Sheridan were players. It was a four-hand game, 
and John Chamberlin was the other player. This game at Cham- 
berlin's was always for $5 limit at first, with the understanding that 
along toward morning, after a couple of hours of warming up, any- 
body could suggest the removal of the limit if he wanted to. The 
way Conkling and Sheridan bluffed each other that night was a 
caution. Both men seemed to strike out luck altogether as an 
element in their good-natured play against each other, and, as 
both of them caught fine hands occasionally when engaged in this 
tug-of-war of bluffing, neither of them could get an exact line on 
the other, and it was better than a play to study their faces at the 
show-downs. Conkling was having all of the success during the 
latter part of the night, and it was fun to hear 'Little Phil' softly 
utter dark and woolly things under his breath when, time after 
time, Conkling would show a hand consisting of nothing at all after 
having scared Sheridan out, or produce a gorgeous set of fours or 
a full hand at such times as Sheridan, deciding that the Senator 
was bluffing, would call him. 

" 'Bite him, Sheridan,' Chamberlin would say, amusedly, on these 
occasions, and Sheridan would tell Chamberlin to go to the dickens, 
and call for another deck of cards. 

A MEMORABLE GAME 

"We started the last round of jackpots with a new deck. Sheri- 
dan dealt the first mess himself, and, after it had gone around and 
none of the three of us could open it, Sheridan opened it himself. 
Neither Chamberlin nor I had any right to stay on our hands, and 
so it was left between Sheridan and Conkling, who stayed. Conk- 
ling took three cards, and turned his little pair into threes. Sheri- 
dan dished himself out three cards, and bit his cigar hard when he 
saw his hand. He made a $5 bet to draw Conkling out, and the 
Senator raised him $25. It passed between them with these $25 bets 
until there was nearly $300 in the pot, both men scrutinizing each 
other pretty carefully at each bet. 

45 



Civil- WAR Echoes — Character 



" 'I doah know so mndi about yon, tins time,' said Conkfii^ finaOy, 
'and I thiak IH jest call joo for safety.' 

''Both laid dbeir bends down at tlie same time. Cooldii^ bad three 
nines, and be looked at Sheridan strangdy wben be saw tfae orior 
of Sfaeridan's tbree aces. Both Cfaamberlin and mysdf also saw 
wbat was wrone^ at the same instant, bat we only soiled and let 
tbe two men have it oat. Sheridan had a broad grin on his &ce, 
and was jnst aboot to rake in dbe poL Cot^^ag was e^aiag at tfae 
litde man of iron with a pozzied look in his eyes. 

"'Oh, I s^, tfaerc^ Phil, just wait a minote,' said he. Do yoa 
really think that pot hekmgs to yoa?* 

"'Bdongs to me?' said Sheridan. "Well, it does if the nose on 
my face bdoogps to me — * and again he reached over to hoe in 
the pol^ 

"Xjoal&ig ran his hand ^troa^ his hair, and a^in stopped 
Sbetiiaa with a gesture: 

"1 don't remembo- ever hanng seen that sort of tfaii^ before,' 
be said. 'Did yoa, Phil?' 

"^ce what sort of thii^ before?* said Sheridan. "What in 
Mazes are yoa talkiiis aboid, ConUing?' 

Tor refiy, Conkhng pot one finger upon one of Sheridan's aces 
and dien pointed to anodm- one of die aces. 

"'I never saw a jadkjot won widi diree aces, two of which hap- 
pened to be aces of diamonds,' said Cbnldii^ smilii^ 

"Sheridan looked at his hand, lyii% face xtp on the table heiort 
bam, and bis face became fiery red. The oonstemation on his 
cowntmance was really finmy. 

"'Why,' said he, after a minate, lilamed if I don't bdieve I'm 
notfaif^ betto* dian an invohmtaiy swindler. That odm* ace, you 
see, is a clid>. I opened the pot oo a pair of red aces, and they were, 
of coune, these aces of diamonds. Chamberlin, tumii^ to die 
anwMird bomface, 'turn me out of doors as a fraud and a diort 
card player, will you?* 

"'And hare the army fire a vtrfl^ over the ruins of my bouse?' 
repbed Qiamberlin. 'Hardly. Anyhow, I'd rather tee yoa and 
Codkling es»g9fit m a roo^b-and-tumbte fist over the tlmig. Go 
ahead, the pair of you. We^ see fair pl^,' tttrmag to me. 

"Of coarse, the extra ace of diamonds had slqiped into the deck 
acddentally before it left the mamtfactoret^s hands; but Sheridan, 
when he lud in a measure recovered from the surprise of the revela- 
tion, made a humorous pretetmon that he had known die whole thing 
an along, and convulsed the three of us by fedii^y appealing to 
Colliding to refrain from eiqx>sing him to the wodd, for the sake 
of bit family, and all that kind of Aing, The hand being foul, the 
pot was, of course, divided. 



AND >rATE ^ECRETS 



"CocAliqs was a pecoIariT geservjcs pctxr oiiT^r. One ai^£. 
vfaea Sesfttor Zxck CksisiL«- wis ooe of cfee piiper^ t"^ ^!-.*-'-^ wtts 
tbe bene&iaixx oi & Burade ds3K <k>es ax c^ea ?appCT. s; a ssm 
erea once ai a lifmit QoMfier deak liai a pat ra$ai lasbL It 
was a jackpot. Keiiher Wade ITTiHirM> «^ was tiK odter pixjrer. 
aor ngrsxlj^ cjiigi h l viyllnms dnt woaM jvsftify as ia dnnniis cai<^i, 
and so die tlm^ was bctweea CookfiiiS aad dK Seaaiar fnaa Ificia- 
gas. Cfdlinu^ of coarse, stood pol^ aad Chaarikr, diiwing. two 
nril fillrrt lai hml fniii ten ri aliwh hi Wiy !■ fciUwu, He 
bet $HnL 

' *Btt or BO fat. OwHias.' said le. ia Mdbas 4^ ^efc. TSre sot 
tkat lusoable ^tinflit stn^^ <tf jowrs walorcd this tmm, fujm 
if joafVe sot it. Cn— t aft ■«.* 

"Codkiii^ folded «^ his hani airi hMked OiaJii » the <«<l 

"^owVe a |Hetft$> nch Haa. 2ach» are xroa aot?* saii he. 

''^Middiiiis rich,' said OoMikr. 

* \\nd joaVe got a p(el|]r sood hnri— <h, Zath?* 

" 'Wotdi a conyle of jrears of mff pn^f as a tasa wearer, safposias 
rVe sot a sood s»"k wu to hack agabsL* 

^Unbeatalile. Zach?* 
natimny. 

"^ WdU Chandler/ said ConUiags >Km aHQr he pretty wdl fixed ia 
d»t haad. hot Ire sot ooe here ditt I aai cnawi a c ed ao geiAeawB 
ever ought to phjr/ aad he spread oat hb pHt raydl laih 

'^Chaadler hiokcd at die hand for a awaial ia sieace. 

"* TonkKws.* said he fiaaQy, "jtrn're a %aecr a a xtu te of Doa Qwt- 
o(e aad Priace Charfie— which BKaas» or ooght Id aKai^ Aat joa'Ve 
a d— d sood fdlov."^— 71riSMau«r<Sitar, »lai*imitwi. /H C. 

As a "smmp" orator, fwobatbly Tame> \\\ Xye. of XKWMDkA. 
never was sttrpatssed in the United States. The creation of 
the state of XeTada oat of a part of the terrtonr of Utah 
was a qoash-niithanr necessitT. and it was dioii^lit at the 
dme for the e^Kcial purpose of pavii^ the way ft>r General 
Xye's admisskm to the Senate, where Lincofai desired to 
have the henelit of his str(M^ Unionbm and gr^at ^oqo^ice. 
He was. therefore, appointed Governor of Ae newiy-cr e a t c d 
territory, and on its admission as a state in the UnicMi he 
was djosen as one of its siMiabMrs. He xiras well-known to 
most of his party leaders. He was a remarkabhr fine-look- 
ing man. widi a decided, stroi^ cast of features. He stood 







9k£. /y ^^rut /&^ ,d^ ^z^^ ^ 
^^=^^^^^^- ,/i^^ i2w^^^ ^^^ 








49 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



in height, 5 feet 95^ inches ; in weight, not quite 200 pounds ; 
chest, 42 inches; head, 23^ inches; born June 10, 1815; 
uniformly attired in black, open Prince Albert coat and 
much expanse of shirt bosom, turn-down collar ; short and 
powerful neck, upon which rested a large, magnificent- 
shaped head with long, gray hair, and slightly bald. He 
wore no beard nor mustache. His countenance was rather 
pale and bloodless, of an ashen hue and waxy. His jaw 
and chin were massive and of heroic mold ; his nose, straight 
and not disproportioned to his face ; his forehead was large, 
full, wide, and square ; his eyes, such as are rarely given 
to mortals, were exceedingly large, bright, intelligent, soft, 
and winning — they always brought to my mind the compari- 
son of the eyes of a great, magnificent thoroughbred 
stallion, when conjoined to their imperial sweep was the 
lofty and superb carriage of that noble head and face. Dur- 
ing his speaking his whole action was grandly graceful, and 
united to a voice which I firmly believe never has been 
surpassed among the sons of men, was simply indescribable. 
He was a natural-born orator. He surpassed any member 
of that day in the brilliancy of his imagination as well as 
in the wonderful modulations of his remarkably fascinating 
utterance. 

His eloquence was truly musical and soul-inspiring. 
When "Jim" Nye arose to speak, invariably on both sides. 
Democratic and Republican, every senator ceased his writ- 
ing or reading, leaned back in his chair and was all attention 
and expectation for a rhetorical entertainment, and was not 
disappointed. With head aloft and erect, and face turned up 
toward the galleries, how that magnificent and unsurpassable 
voice would sweep around the chamber, reverberating in 
every nook and cranny and holding its hearers spellbound 
by its musical and baritone notes ! A lover of music would 
get lost in the latter feature of the effort amid the fiery 
words of patriotism that welled up from his big heart. I 

50 




WILLIAM H. SEWARD, SECRETARY OF STATE 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



call to mind a splendid extempore burst from this great 
man's lips in reply to an ambiguous speech from Senator 
Doolittle, of Wisconsin, delivered shortly before his return 
to the Democratic party from the Republican ranks where 
he had been enlisted as a senator. The latter's speech 
expressed great dissatisfaction with Republican acts and 
was quite censorious. General Nye arose, in reply, and with 
fire flashing from those great, lustrous eyes, and superb 
voice quivering with indignant emotion and scorn, and the 
most exquisite wavelike modulations, exclaimed : "Under 
what flag does the senator from Wisconsin march? Is it 
the Stars and Stripes? Or is it the Stars and Bars?" — and 
on and on lashing the Wisconsin senator with most with- 
ering sarcasm. 

In early days General Nye had been a stage driver. After 
he had attained distinction as a great criminal lawyer in the 
city of New York, and several years before he became sena- 
tor from Nevada, he was engaged to assist my father in 
the prosecution of three rascals who had robbed the Ameri- 
can Express Company of fifty thousand dollars in gold — 
my father then being Attorney General of the state of 
Michigan. General Nye came to our house to stay during 
the trial. He had been our guest but a day or two, when 
my mother frankly said to him : "General Nye, I have met 
you somewhere and sometime before in my life." He 
replied : "Very likely, madam ; possibly it was when I drove 

a stage between and when I was a young man." 

"Yes, sir," replied my mother, "I now remember you quite 
well, because you very graciously allowed me, then a young 
girl passenger, to ride by your side up on the driver's seat." 
There was no false pride about James W. Nye. He was a ge- 
nial, kind-hearted, joke-loving, and story-telling man, intensely 
patriotic. What he lacked to make him the foremost orator 
of his day in Congress was, perhaps, the learning of Sum- 

52 



Sketches and State Secrets 



ner and the logic of Howard. His seat in the Senate was 
on the back row between these two. 

Zachariah Chandler, one of the two senators from Michi- 
gan, during the period covered by these pages — Jacob M. 
Howard being the other — was born on the loth of December, 
in the year 1813. In height he was a fraction over 6 feet 
and I inch; weight, 208 pounds; chest, 41^4 inches; head, 
22^ inches. He was always neatly but plainly dressed in 
black, frequently in dress suit, more often in Prince Albert 
coat, always open, and with much expanse of shirt bosom. 

He was seldom erect in carriage, rather inclined to a 
stooping, ungraceful, and shuffling gait. He was smooth 
shaven; his large mouth drooped at each corner. He was 
a man with comparatively little learning or scholarship. 
He had had no parliamentary training previous to his 
entrance to the Senate, but he possessed precisely what the 
times were in need of — what the republic wanted — an intense 
love of the Union, overriding all other mental qualities, 
great moral courage, a tremendous will power and unceas- 
ing energy. He had executive ability of a high order. He 
was much given to profanity like Wade, and was often 
intemperate in speech. Chandler was not an orator in the 
highest sense of the term. He had a blustering presence, a 
strong voice, a sort of a menacing, tremolo, defiant tone, 
intensely earnest, always serious ; his language was plain 
Anglo-Saxon. Like Wade, again, he was forceful and 
epigrammatic in expression. He was essentially a business 
man, and as such rendered the nation great and valuable 
services as chairman of the Committee on Commerce, as 
he did also as member of the Committee on the Conduct 
of the War. 

John Sherman, senator from Ohio, was a power in 
the Senate ; unemotional, alert, abstemious, self-contained, 

53 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



methodical, logical, fearless, ready at all times, calculating, 
ambitious, rather puritanical in attire and aspect, seldom 
pathetic in speech. His psychical characteristics were very 
like those of William Pitt Fessenden, already described. 
There was always an air of upbending, precise, and accu- 
rate knowledge. His affability seemed forced. I am told 
by ex-Senator T. W. Palmer, of Michigan, that he was 
exceedingly diffident. He had comparatively few inti- 
mates. He was not an orator, but was a ready speaker, a 
good debater, most at home on questions of finance. He 
had somewhat of the schoolmaster manner of speaking, and 
spoke a great deal and on various subjects. 

His words always carried great weight. John Sherman 
stands out preeminently as a great statesman, a patriot, 
and in his line as a senator did quite as much to preserve 
the Union and perpetuate the Republic as did his distin- 
guished brother, General William T. Sherman. 

His height was 6 feet 2^4 inches; weight, about 150 
pounds ; chest, 35 inches ; head, 23 inches ; born. May 10, 
1823, His dress was usually black broadcloth, Prince 
Albert coat with velvet collar, worn unbuttoned, rather 
short-cropped beard, long, aquiline nose, large, strong eyes, 
full square forehead. His carriage was erect and full of 
business. He was incessantly at work — seldom seen en- 
gaged joking or gossiping with other senators. He had 
the appearance of a busy merchant-prince or professor of 
mathematics. He sat upright at his desk in the Senate, 
never lolled back with his feet upon it or hands in his 
pockets. In his attire he was scrupulously neat. He 
seldom, if ever, indulged in invective or vituperation, and 
was, equally, seldom attacked or interrupted in debate except 
for purposes of information, during the delivery of a 
speech. He avoided making enemies ; was very guarded in 
his personal remarks, . usually formally polite and consid- 
erate. He was a man in perfect mastery of himself — to 

54 




U. S. SENATOR CHARLES SUMNER, MASSACHUSETTS 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



use again the simile of Huxley — "a clear, cold, logical 
engine." He seemed perpetually conscious of the fact that 
the Presidency was for him a possibility, and the path to 
it must not be made, by him at least, unnecessarily rocky 
and rugged. He knew the advantage of having few 
personal enemies, at least inside his own party ranks ; hence 
his caution. 

Two of the most noticeable members of the Senate of the 
Thirty-ninth Congress, by reason of their outre habiliments, 
were William McDougall, of California, and Luke 
P. Poland, of Vermont — each, however, was radically 
different from the other in mental attributes. Both dressed 
in blue swallow-tail coats with brass or gold-plated buttons 
on them, low-cut, buff vests and ruffle shirt bosoms, standing 
collars with stocks, and bell-shaped trousers. McDougall 
affected a little more pretentious outfit than Poland, as the 
former appeared in the Senate and on the streets quite 
frequently with large, wide-brimmed, sombrero felt hat, gen- 
erally black, and knee-high-top, patent leather riding boots. 
His seat, a very conspicuous one, was down on the front 
row adjoining the center aisle on the left-hand side — the 
Democratic side. I recall several amusing incidents in 
connection with McDougall which occurred "behind the 
scenes," and which I am sure his friends will not take amiss 
for my giving to the public in these reminiscences. He was 
a proverbial "good fellow," with frequent scintillations of 
the brightest wit, and "wild and woolly" humor. I remember 
seeing him on one occasion come into the Senate Chamber 
through the central door at the head of the center aisle, 
and directly facing the presiding officer's chair. He was 
costumed as I have described, save in his right hand he 
carried a riding whip, and in his mouth a lighted and 
smoking white clay pipe. He strode directly down that 
aisle, sombrero on his head, pipe in mouth, to his seat, 

56 



Sketches and State Secrets 



where he uncovered and placed his sombrero on his desk, 
followed by his clay pipe, and then, without taking his seat, 
he picked up his tape-tied bundle of mail and without 
examining a single letter or paper, proceeded with apparent 
indignation, to tear up each letter and paper and throw 
them all into the waste basket. He then replaced the pipe 
in his mouth, and his immense hat on his head, while the 
senators who had observed him during this funny pro- 
ceeding, smiled broadly, and the distinguished senator from 
California moved up and out the aisle with most majestic 
mien and resumed his equestrian exercise on his favorite 
black nag. This horse was habilitated in equal gorgeous- 
ness with its master. The bridle and saddle were evidently 
of most elaborate Mexican workmanship, and back of the 
saddle were two small, long-haired black bear skins, one on 
each side of the horse. It is related of McDougall that 
on one occasion when out horseback riding he had become 
too familiar with Bacchus, and in consequence fell off his 
steed into the gutter, or rather, sewer (the sewers in those 
days were the gutters). A policeman happened along and 
went to the senator's relief, and on asking him his name, 
the latter replied: "I 'spose Fm Bill Seward!" His own 
name was William ; his locus-in-quo suggested the name 
of the Secretary of State. It was truly characteristic of 
his lightninglike wit and sense of humor. 

On another occasion when, in company with a friend, I 
was lunching at Whitney's restaurant, which was located 
diagonally opposite the Senate, McDougall came in and, 
looking neither to right nor left, strode up to the bar which 
was quite lined up with gentlemen, slapped his hand down 
on the counter and said simply: "Whiskey." The bar- 
keeper replied : "Sorry, senator, but Mr. Whitney says for' 
me not to let you have any more liquor here." With a 
haughty and indignant toss of the head, and turning upon 
his heel, he said, with greatly assumed injured innocence 

57 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



and stagelike voice : "That d — n Saulsbury has been here 

and ruined my credit, by ," and he walked out with 

a sneer on lip and head erect. He referred to Senator 
Willard Saulsbury, of Delaware. 

Senators Grimes and Harlan were the strongest sena- 
torial team that Iowa had as yet sent the Senate. The 
former gentleman had a very large head, measuring 24 
inches around it ; his height was 5 feet 11^ inches ; weight, 
161 pounds ; chest, ZTVa inches. He was a slouchy sort 
of a man in personal appearance ; hands generally in his 
trousers' pockets, and sat tipped back in his chair with feet 
up on top of his desk, the only senator addicted to this 
habit. His face and the poise of his head and the manner 
of his speech were the combined personification of conceit. 
It stuck out all over him. He was extremely dogmatic 
and self-assertive. He possessed little rhetorical ability, 
but had a keen, incisive, and disputatious turn of mind. He 
exhibited constantly a tired feeling, a bored expression. He 
was somewhat of a chronic fault-finder ; a cynical-looking 
man, unsociable, delighted in picking out flaws ; he was an 
iconoclast, a pessimist. I predicted he would be one of the 
seven Republican senators who would vote with the Demo- 
cratic senators for the acquittal of President Johnson in 
his impeachment trial. 

He did as I had foreseen. He was a strong Union man. 

James Harlan, Grimes' colleague, had been, I think, a 
Methodist minister before entering the Senate. He was a 
man of heavy build, weighing in the neighborhood of two 
hundred pounds, with large head and features, of fine and 
manly presence, of somewhat slow and sluggish tempera- 
ment until thoroughly aroused, when he was a powerful 
and impressive speaker. He retained the solemn minis- 

58 



Sketches and State Secrets 



terial mannerism, the sober face and sedate sanctity of the 
pulpit. 

He was somewhat after the mold of old Ben Wade. 
Rugged, plain, approachable, afifable, temperate, alert, at- 
tentive to duty, honest — he was a strong man physically 
and psychically. He was a good debater, but did not speak 
often. He was the father of a very charming and accom- 
plished daughter who subsequently was married to Honor- 
able Robert T. Lincoln, son of the great Liberator, 
Abraham Lincoln in whose cabinet Mr. Harlan was 
placed as Secretary of the Interior, and was succeeded in 
the Senate by War Governor Kirkwood, a man of marked 
individuality and great ability. 

James R. Doolittle and Timothy O. Howe represented 
the state of Wisconsin ; both strong men. Howe, like 
Henry Wilson, weakened his influence somewhat by indulg- 
ing in almost every debate that arose, no matter on what 
subject. He was prosy, prolix, argumentative, rather dry 
and tedious, very like Garrett Davis, of Kentucky, who 
would talk so long as to feel obliged to take a seat on the 
arm of his chair and continue talking or reading statistics 
until the Senate Chamber was about empty. Howe had a 
nasal twang and awkwardness of action that were very tire- 
some to the listener. He was logical, but entirely unimagi- 
native ; intensely patriotic and always voted right. He was 
about 6 feet in height ; i6o pounds in weight ; 38 inches in 
chest ; head, 23^ inches ; neatly attired, and of moral and 
correct habits. I heard him once telling with great glee of 
his having attended a reception, or "function," at the resi- 
dence of a prominent senator, and seeing upon the wall of the 
drawing room a large oil painting representing Judith 
carrying the ghastly and dripping head of Holofernes by 
the hair, as a present to her lord and master, he said it 
was more fit for a butcher shop than a parlor, but was 

59 



C I V I L - w A R Echoes — Character 



quite characteristic of that senator's taste. Howe should 
be ranked as an able statesman, a good, pure, honest, incor- 
ruptible man. He was born February 24, 1816. 

Of his colleague, Doolittle, I can say little. O'erwefening 
ambition, or timid conservatism, or more properly, eminent 
respectability, seemed constantly gnawing at his vitals. A 
man of fine proportions; 5 feet 10 inches in height; in 
weight, 200 pounds ; chest, 41 inches ; head, 2354 inches. 
He was born January 3, 181 5. He was invariably attired 
in full-dress, black suit. His seat was on the back row at 
the corner of the center aisle. He had a strong, clear 
voice, and impressive, deliberate utterance. He was too self- 
conscious to be very effective as a speaker. He paid gre^t 
attention to the manner, although he always received the 
most respectful and undivided attention of the Senate. He 
prided himself upon the correct pronunciation of proper 
names. In speaking of the sovereign of Turkey, he uttered 
the title as if spelled Sue-el-tawn. I predicted that he 
would be one of the seven Republican senators who would 
vote for the acquittal of President Johnson in his impeach- 
ment trial. He was one. He subsequently abandoned the 
Republican party, by which he had been elected to the 
Senate, returning to the Democratic party, with which he 
had been formerly allied. 

The ablest Democratic senators in the Thirty-ninth Con- 
gress were Reverdy Johnson, Thomas A. Hendricks, and 
Charles A. Buckalew. Johnson was decidedly English in 
personal appearance ; rotund, rosy, and jolly. He repre- 
sented, in part, Maryland. He used to undress completely 
and take a midday sleep of an hour in bed at home daily; 
a very sociable man of great ability, and strong love of 
the Union. He was 5 feet 6j^ inches in height ; in weight, 
170 pounds ; chest, 38^ inches ; head, 23^ inches ; born, 

60 




U. S. SENATOR BENJAMIN F. WADE, OHIO 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



May 21, 1796. He had lost the use of one eye. In young 
manhood he was second in a duel ; his principal's opponent 
being a poor marksman, accidentally shot Johnson in the 
eye and destroyed its sight. He was a fastidious dresser, a 
strong debater on legal and constitutional questions, always 
courtly and considerate, seldom vituperative or sarcastic. 
He was a broad-guaged, scholarly statesman. Afterward 
he filled the exalted position of Minister of the United 
States at the Court of Saint James. 

Hendricks was a placid, self-poised, graceful, dignified, 
erect, well-groomed, handsome gentleman, with a perennial 
smile and dignified demeanor. He was deliberate in speech, 
seldom violent, rather cold, calm, and judicial ; inclined to 
be pessimistic. He was a pleasing speaker, but could not 
be ranked as a great orator. He seemed to be constantly on 
dress parade, as if conscious of still greater future political 
distinction, which he did eventually attain as Vice-president. 

WiLLARD Saulsbury, OF DELAWARE, was a leading lawyer- 
senator of strong democratic convictions, and a man of 
large intellectual ability ; of very kind heart and sociable 
instincts. He weakened his force by frequent indulgence 
in liquor, and when under its influence was unruly and 
often violent ; it roused all the fight in him as it did all the 
fun in McDougall. 

Saulsbury was a man of mark. He was almost six feet 
in height; in weight, 180 pounds; chest, 38 inches; head, 
23 inches ; born June 2, 1820. He was always attired in a 
high silk hat and a full black dress suit of broadcloth. For 
some "treasonable" utterance in a speech delivered by him 
in the Senate, Mr. Wilson introduced a resolution for his 
expulsion, but my father persuaded him not to call it up 
for action by the Senate; Saulsbury had sworn he would 
shoot Wilson to death whenever he did so. 

62 



Sketches and State Secrets 



Richard Yates, of Illinois, was somewhat on the order 
of Mr. Saulsbury, but was the quintessence of fiery 
patriotism. Many of his speeches were gems of oratory. 
The excitements of high pubHc station had shattered his 
fine nervous organization. He was always a gentleman. 
There was something about him that at once aroused the 
pity of the beholder. He seemed to have a pleading look 
in his handsome but haggard face, bloodless and gentle. 
How eloquent and touching were his words of warning 
uttered before the Congressional Temperance Association ! 
God bless his memory. He did much to perpetuate this 
Union of states. His height was 5 feet 9^ inches ; weight, 
about 150 pounds; chest, 36 inches; head, 23 inches; born 
January 18, 1817. 

The senators from New York whom I met and knew were 
Judge Harris and ex-Governors Fenton and Morgan 
besides Roscoe Conkling of whom I have made mention. 
Harris was a large, dark-complexioned, old school gentle- 
man, with iron gray hair; a typical judge, on the ponderous 
order, seldom indulging in debate, but always looking 
exceedingly wise and learned. He was an able lawyer and 
accomplished gentleman. Governor Fenton preceded Gov- 
ernor Morgan. Fenton was of the ministerial order in 
looks and general action ; had a catlike, soft, velvety way. 
He was more of a politician than statesman. 

Morgan was a large, heavy, unimpressionable man, of 
stolid appearance ; seldom opened his mouth in speech in 
the Senate. He was a typical business man of strong Union 
sentiments ; had been Governor of the Empire State in the 
early period of the war. He was a tower of financial 
strength to the nation. He entertained in a most hospitable 
and princely manner at his home. 

63 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



Ramsey and Wilkinson represented Minnesota. The 
former was a good specimen of Pennsylvania Dutch stock ; 
always placid, immovable (save when old Simon Cameron 
asked him to come down to his committee room and sample 
some champagne), dignified, a little pompous, thoroughly 
patriotic, and a hard worker in the postal interests of the 
nation. He negotiated a postal treaty between France and 
the United States ; was Secretary of War subsequently, 
and rounded out his public career as a member of the 
Utah Commission. He was a jolly, companionable gentle- 
man, and a good, honest, upright statesman. 

Morton S. Wilkinson, his colleague, was a man of no 
inconsiderable ability; tall, graceful, companionable. I 
never think of him without recalling a little episode that 
occurred in which he was one of the three participants — the 
other two being no less personages than the wife of Presi- 
dent Lincoln and the wife of one of the ablest of the 
Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. The 
occasion was the Second Inauguration Ball, given in the 
newly-finished Patent Office Building, in honor of President 
and Mrs. Lincoln. Senator Wilkinson was, I think, chair- 
man of the reception committee. As the distinguished 
procession was about to form with President Lincoln and 
wife at its head preparatory to passing through the massive 
doorway into the room where the ball was to take place, 
the senator was urged by the fair partner clinging to his 

arm — wife aforesaid of Justice to take a position 

immediately in advance of the Lincolns and so precede 
them, the question of "precedence" was then bursting from 
the bud state. In her anxiety to "get to the front" and 
while pressing the senator to hasten, she unfortunately 
stepped upon Mrs. Lincoln's dress trail and tore it quite 
badly. Mrs. Lincoln was greatly provoked, but her maid 
in attendance soon pinned up the rent and Mrs. Justice 

64 



Sketches and State Secrets 



retired crestfallen. The next day she received a note from 
Mrs. Lincoln to the effect that her presence would no 
longer be acceptable at the White House. When the Jus- 
tice learned of the occurrence and the apparent rudeness 
of his beautiful wife, he at once dispatched her to her far- 
distant home, where, by his stern mandate, she was com- 
pelled to remain for the space of two years. After her 
return to Washington I had the honor of becoming quite 
well acquainted with this bright, vivacious, ambitious, high- 
strung, and independent lady, who by her graces had 
become a universal favorite in the highest official social 
circles there. She frankly related the whole circumstance 
to me and in closing the account, said : "Mary Lincoln need 
not put on any airs toward me. I knew Mary Lincoln 
when she used to do her own little washing in her own 
little wash-tub !" 

One of the "amoosin cusses," as Artemas Ward would say, 
of the Senate was ex-Governor Sprague, more largely 
known as the husband of a celebrated beauty and daughter 
of Salmon P. Chase. This irreverent reflection applies only 
to his condition while under Dick Swiveler's "rosy" — when 
he would invariably take a seat on one side or the other 
of Charles Sumner and enjoy annoying him by words and 
acts of endearment, hitching his chair as close as possible 
and passing his arm around Sumner's neck and shoulders 
and "slobbering" over him. Sumner, under the circum- 
stances, was exceedingly good natured, but would mildly 
protest and look slyly up at the galleries, blush, and edge 
away like an antiquated female bachelor. 

Matthew H. Carpenter, of Wisconsin, probably the 
ablest and most brilliant senator that state has as yet had 
in Congress, took his seat in the year 1869, as the successor 
of Doolittle. He was a man strikingly handsome and mili- 

6 65 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



tary in appearance ; carried himself with a certain abandon. 
He possessed a melHfluous voice and rapid, graceful, vig- 
orous diction, speaking without apparent effort, save when 
aroused to patriotic fervor, and then his active and poetical 
imagination was called into action ; and at such times his 
flights of oratory were seldom surpassed or equaled. As 
an orator, he stood very close to Nye. He was a lovable 
and companionable man, greatly liked by Secretary of War 
Stanton. 

A friend at my elbow who knew him intimately, long be- 
fore he became a senator and who finished the study of law 
with him, says : "He was a wild, rollicking boy, full of good 
humor and practical jokes, but of the kind which are harm- 
less. He was appointed a cadet at West Point, but after a 
year he could stand the discipline and restraint no longer, 
and, obtaining a leave of absence on furlough, never 
returned. He began the study of law with Hon. Paul 
Dillingham, War Governor of Vermont, whose daughter 
he subsequently married. He had a most determined char- 
acter concealed under a very jovial, free, and easy exterior. 
After he began the study of the law he became totally blind, 
and for two years and a half he never saw the light of day 
nor the face of one loved friend. Although it was believed 
he was hopelessly blind, he never faltered in his determina- 
tion to master the great principles of the law. He had a 
supreme contempt for a mere case lawyer, and would never 
read a second time any case that was not decided upon 
principle. 

After some of his pranks while a boy, the Presbyterian 
minister of the New England town where he lived, 
predicted that the "Carpenter boy" would end his days in 
state's prison. Twenty years later he was United States 
senator and visited his early New England home. Meeting 
the aged clergyman who had predicted his downfall, he 
said : "Elder, I am glad to meet you. I remember you once 

66 



Sketches and State Secrets 



said I would end my days in prison. I am afraid your 
prophecy will come true, as I am already in the United 
States Senate." 

He had no comprehension of the value of money — every 
beggar got something. Once a professional beggar, who 
actually owned houses and lots, came into his office in his 
most ragged costume and solicited help. Carpenter 
mechanically put his hand in his pocket, found a five dollar 
bill and handed it to the old fraud. A friend remonstrated 
with him for giving so much money to a professional 
beggar who did not need it. To which Carpenter replied : 
"Well, if I went around town looking as he does, I know 
I would need five dollars d — d bad." 

He was a hard student, but never indulged in desultory 
reading. When investigating a subject he would never 
abandon the work until it was thoroughly mastered. It 
was this habit that gave him such fluency of speech. His 
skill in grouping facts before a jury, before a court, or in 
the Senate, he always claimed, was due to his study of the 
style of Clarendon's History of the English Rebellion. 

The two first Republican senators from Missouri — "the 
Borderland," as it was termed — who entered upon their 
duties shortly after the close of the war, were Charles D. 
Drake and John B. Henderson; the former, a little, fier/ 
debater, intensely in earnest and radical, and whose sharp, 
penetrating voice almost invariably emptied the Senate floor 
and gallery, but withal a man of great legal ability, and 
most kindly temperament — subsequently the Chief Justice 
of the U. S. Court of Claims ; the latter senator, a tall, 
quiet, conservative, dignified statesman, very much after the 
order of Sherman, and who seldom inflicted speeches upon 
the Senate ; he subsequently married the beautiful and ac- 
complished daughter of Senator Solomon Foote, of Ver- 
mont, who was concededly the ablest parliamentarian and 

6/ 



C I V I L - w A R Echoes — Character 



President pro tempore that the Senate has ever had to 
preside over its deliberations. 

There were altogether during the war of the rebellion 
and up to the readmission of the first seceded Southern 
state but forty-eight members of the United States Senate. 

[The biography of Senator Jacob M. Howard, of 
Michigan, appears elsewhere in this book.] 



(>8 




PRESIDENT LINCOLN AND J. WILKES BOOTH 



CHAPTER TWO 

President Lincoln's Assassination, and Vice-president John- 
son's Complicity Therein 

author's first call upon LINCOLN — RECEPTION AT WHITE 
HOUSE — INAUGURATION IN 1865 — LINCOLN'S APPEAR- 
ANCE — WAS ANDREW JOHNSON AN ACCESSORY BEFORE 

THE FACT ? — NEW EVIDENCE OLD SENATE DOORKEEPER — 

GOVERNOR SALOMAN's THRILLING ACCOUNT — WILKES 

booth's CARD LEFT FOR JOHNSON SECRETARY STAN- 

TON's SIGNIFICANT SHRUG — "tHE FIGHTING ILLINOIS 
parson;" HIS TETE-A-TETE WITH MADAME SURRATT — DID 
THE JESUIT ORDER HAVE TO DO WITH THE CONSPIRACY? — 
OPINION OF PROVOST MARSHAL GENERAL H. H. WELLS — 
WAS MRS. SURRATt's HANGING JUSTIFIABLE? 

|HE most dastardly crimes committed against 
a nation or its chief magistrate since the cruci- 
fixion of Christ on Calvary, were the cowardly 
and unprovoked assassinations of Presidents 
Abraham Lincoln, James Abram Garfield, 
and William McKinley — each of whom it 
was my great honor and privilege, in person, to meet. I 
purpose presenting some of my personal reminiscences about 
the great Lincoln's appearance and mannerisms, together 
with a brief account of unpublished history as to the con- 
spiracy for, first, his kidnapping, and secondly, his death 
in Ford's Theater, in Washington, as well as an authentic 
account by an eye-witness of the capture and tragic death 
of his assassin, John Wilkes Booth, in a Virginia barn, at 
the hands of Sergeant Corbett, the latter of whom in turn, 
several years later, expired in an Insane Asylum in Kansas. 

70 




Sketches and State Secrets 



The several occasions upon which I saw the greatest of 
the martyred Presidents, heard his peculiarly pleasant and 
inartificial voice and shook his large, bony hand, are recalled 
without difficulty. At first sight the thought arose that he 
was, without exception, the homeliest and most ungainly- 
appearing man it had ever been my lot to see, but after 
gazing into those great, big ox-eyes that were unfathomable 
in kindness, pity, humor, and reserved power, one saw in 
an instant that they mirrored the true character of the 
mighty soul that looked through them out into this world. 
They, in addition to the great height of his body, the huge 
dome of his head, and the benevolent cast of the counte- 
nance, proclaimed the true patriarch of his people in the 
day of their regeneration. He was not misnamed "Abra- 
ham," either as fitting his patriarchal physical character- 
istics or the work of building up a new Republic; so was 
Abraham of old, out of whose loins sprang the chosen 
twelve tribes or peoples of "Israel," the harbingers of 
human liberty for all generations to come after them. One 
was the patriarch of the oldest, the other of the greatest 
regenerated Republic of history ; each was foreordained by 
God for the work done by him. 

The first time I entered Mr. Lincoln's presence was in 
company with my father, at the White House. The object 
of the call is not remembered, but Mr. Lincoln's appearance 
and actions are most vividly. He was dressed in black, 
frock coat and vest unbuttoned — had on an old pair of 
carpet slippers, and his hair was considerably askew. He 
sat in an armchair with both of his legs hanging over one 
of its arms and kept swinging his large, slippered feet to 
and fro as he talked, looking out as if into vacancy, while 
his conversation was addressed to my father. At the com- 
mencement of the call and after he had taken the position 
in the chair as described, I, a lad in my teens, viewed him 
in a kind of dazed amazement as the most grotesque, drawn- 

71 



Civil -WAR Echoes — Character 



out, yes, even ridiculous looking man "for a President" of 
whom any one could conceive. 

Ex-Secretary of the Navy Richard W. Thompson, of 
Indiana, is reported as saying: 

"I was very fond of Lincoln. We were much together during his 
first term in Congress, and I believe he made his first entrance into 
fashionable society with me. A most accomplished lady from Vir- 
ginia, a friend of mine, gave a reception early in the season. About 
fifty distinguished men were invited, but Lincoln was not among 
the number. I concluded he should go and I went to my friend and 
told her that I wanted an invitation for him, as I was anxious that 
she should meet him. She gave me the invitation. I remember 
how Lincoln looked as he sat among the company that night. He 
was, you know, tall, angular and awkward. Some time after his 
presentation he became engaged in conversation with my lady friend, 
taking a seat on a very low rocking chair at her feet. As he grew 
interested in talking he kept edging closer and closer to his hostess. 
He was so low that his knees almost came to his chin, and to get rid 
of his legs he wrapped them one around the other. As he grew 
more interested he came so close that his knees touched the lady's 
dress, and as I looked I thought he must finally land in her lap. 
The next day I met my lady friend and asked her what she thought 
of Lincoln. She replied at once : That man has elements of great- 
ness in him. Of all those at my house last night I think he has 
the best chance of being President of the United States.' This was 
about ten years before he was thought of as a Presidential can- 
didate." 

However, after catching in my own eyes the reflection 
of those great soulful orbs looking right through 
me, I began to realize that in his character the ungainliness 
of his body did not count. He was placid, unruffled, and 
majestic in mien, barring the free and easy attitude 
described, and even in that he displayed a sort of dignified 
contempt for the oft-silly conventionalities of life. It was 
as much as to say : "I am President and am tired, and there- 
fore, am privileged to sit as I please, and you as a sensible 
man won't be oflFended." 

The next time his hand was clasped by me was at a semi- 
private reception given at the White House. The President 
and Mrs. Lincoln received the guests in the center of the 

72 



Sketches and State Secrets 



East Room, and were surrounded by gorgeously-gowned 
ladies, with military, civil, and diplomatic escorts. 

How my youthful heart did palpitate — and how 
ashamed I was of the "miserable fit" of the back of my 
first long coat ! It was a veritable "full-back." Mr. Lin- 
coln towered above and smiled down at me in his benevolent 
way as he held my hand in his massive palm, gloved with 
a number ten or twelve white kid, apparently several sizes 
too large. On my introduction to Mrs. Lincoln, it occurred 
to me that the proper thing to do was to have a little 
impromptu conversation. On remarking, I understood her 
son Robert was present, and hoped to have the pleasure of 
meeting him before he returned to school, she quickly 
replied, that she would take my arm and we would hunt him 
up. Whereat "confusion worse confounded" possessed me ! 
— I, a decidedly diffident youth from the "wild and woolly 
West," so-called, perambulating around the White House 
East Room and other reception rooms and corridors among 
the great and distinguished of this and other lands, zvith 
the first lady of the Nation on my arm! 

Muttering to myself, "Here's greatness thrust upon 
me nilly-willy," and after bowing to the President, who 
smiled his assent, I oflfered my left arm to Mrs. Lincoln, 
who gently said, "Your other arm if you please," where- 
upon silently censuring my awkward stupidity, I turned 
myself so as to present my other arm, upon which she 
placed her hand, and off we started, she making some 
playful remark about "We Westerners." 

I was truly for the moment, to borrow a phrase quite 
common a decade or two ago, "a. bigger man than old 
Grant" in my own estimation. We found Robert, and his 
mother introduced me to him. He is in every way a worthy 
son of a noble sire, and in each public position which he 
has reluctantly accepted, as Secretary of War and Minister 
to Great Britain, has reflected credit upon his father's 

73 



Civil- WAR Echoes — Character 



memory, upon his own name and upon his beloved and 
grateful country. He has left hosts of admiring friends 
in every field of work in which he has been placed, and is 
at present President of the Pullman Company, of Chicago, 
Illinois. 

The next time it was my privilege to be near President 
Lincoln was at the delivery of his second inaugural address, 
March 4, 1865, from the east or front portico of the capitol. 
Having a pass I early entered the building on that day, 
and in due time, so as to be close to the ceremony of admin- 
istering the oath by Chief Justice Chase, which was to 
occur on the temporary platform erected upon and over 
the marble steps, secured a coign of vantage in getting 
directly in front of the statue of Columbus holding a globe 
in his hand, which still ornaments one side of the portico. 
The spot was within less than one hundred feet of Mr. 
Lincoln. During the entire proceedings he looked pale, 
thin, haggard, and worn out, but the smile was as benig- 
nant, the patriarchal mien was as majestic as ever glorified 
mortal. He seemed to tower above all his surrounding 
personalities, and to be the chosen leader specially selected 
by the Divine Ruler for the occasion. 

Martial music filled the air, cannon boomed, Lincoln and 
Chase soon arose, the latter administered the oath as the 
former held his hand upon the Bible, after which Lincoln 
delivered his second memorable inaugural address. The 
scene was grand and awe-inspiring in the extreme. Here 
was the hero of the hour, sprung from direst poverty to 
highest civic and military power. 

The last time it was my privilege to shake President 
Lincoln's hand was shortly after his inauguration just 
referred to, and but a few weeks prior to his untimely 
death. It was at a public reception given by him in the 
evening at the White House. I went alone, joined the long 
and rapidly-increasing procession, fell into line in the cor- 

74 




U. S. SENATOR WILLIAM PITT FESSENDEN^ MAINE 



Civil -WAR Echoes — Character 



ridor of the White House, and inched along toward the 
Blue Room, in which the great President stood, surrounded 
by his official family and their ladies, and he, towering like 
a Cedar of Lebanon above everybody who was near. The 
people composing the single file were in all imaginable 
kinds of habiliments, and of all social conditions. There 
was the sedate, elderly matron with faded shawl and baby 
in arms ; the honest, sturdy, hard-handed- tiller of the soil, 
with trousers in his boot tops ; all classes and kinds, the 
powerful and the poor, black and zvhite, yellow and brown, 
but orderly and respectful, all bent on just one thing — to 
get a sight of the foremost man living on earth and "shake 
his hand" — the latter being the sine-qua-non of American 
good-will and respect. 

As one of the procession, and after a painfully "close 
order" march, I directly found myself in proximity to him. 
Rapidly focussing in my eyes his whole personality, I 
watched his every movement of face and body, before 
being, in turn, presented to him by the District Marshal, who 
first asked my name. Lincoln had been filling up a larger 
and larger space in my youthful mind. My soul was 
thrilled with the grandeur of his character. 

Let me describe him as he appeared on that occasion — 
the last time seen in a public reception. His exact height 
was in the neighborhood of six feet and four inches. He 
stood just a few feet back of the doorway inside the Blue 
Room, which opens into the celebrated "East Room." The 
marshal stood at his right and a sufficient distance to 
allow the people to pass between the two, first asking each 
individual his or her name, and repeating it as he presented 
the caller to Mr. Lincoln. The President was in evening 
"swallow-tail," dress-suit, turn-down shirt collar, white 
cravat, white kid gloves too large, or unduly stretched by 
numberless hand-shakings. As each person was introduced, 
Mr. Lincoln stooped a little and cordially grasped, rather 

76 



Sketches and State Secrets 



quickly, so as to get the first grip — a very essential thing 
in numerous hand-shakings — the right hand in his own, 
placed his left hand on the caller's shoulder, and gently, and 
amid continuous smiles and numberless "How-de-does" 
shoved with his left hand each one along past him. He 
was working very hard ; making a voluntary social martyr 
of himself, just to gratify the curious and his admirers. I 
placed my hand in his great one — I looked up into those 
never-to-be-forgotten and magnificent eyes, and quietly 
said, "God bless you, Mr. President," to which he quickly 
replied: "And you, also, my young friend." His face was 
covered with perspiration, but he showed little fatigue. 1 
passed along and joined a coterie of lady friends standing 
behind Mrs. Lincoln and the cabinet ladies, and we watched 
this great man as he remained standing and fairly "sawed 
wood" — although the process through which he was going 
was much more arduous than sawing wood, for over two 
and a half hours. Hundreds had shaken his right hand. I 
passed into the East Room, out through one of the front 
windows, over a temporary bridge, into the front grounds 
and to my hotel, carrying a vivid and lasting impression 
of the great Benefactor. 

I was soon back at college and engaged in my studies. 
It was but a few weeks, on the fifteenth day of April, 1865, 
when the people of the United States received a nervous 
shock such as had never before in the history of the nation 
been given them. The foremost man of the age, the Chief 
Magistrate of forty millions of people — the emancipator of 
four millions of human slaves, the great orator, had 
been murdered — he who had but recently uttered on the 
field of Gettysburg these ever memorable, eloquent words — 
words which rival in their majestic sweep the celebrated 
funeral oration of Marc Antony over the corpse of Julius 
Caesar : 



Civil- WAR Echoes — Character 



"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon 
this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to 
the proposition that all men are born equal. Now wc are engaged 
in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so 
conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a 
great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion 
of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their 
lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and 
proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense -we can not 
dedicate, we can not consecrate, zve can not hallow this ground. 
The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have conse- 
crated it far above our power to add or detract. The world will 
little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never 
forget what they did here. It is rather for us to be dedicated here, 
to be dedicated to the unfinished work which they who fought here 
have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here 
dedicated to the great task remaining before us ; that from these 
honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which 
they gave the last full measure of devotion, that we here highly re- 
solve that these dead shall have not died in vain, that this nation 
under God shall have a new bir'th of freedom, and that this Gov- 
ernment of the people, by the people and for the people shall not 
perish from the earth." 

Well do I remember the occasion of the receipt of the 
soul-harrowing news at college, and how fresh rejoicing 
for the ending of the war was suddenly turned to bitter 
mourning and dread for the future ; how my own heart 
sickened, then throbbed in anger; how our very pulses 
almost ceased to beat, and a hushed stillness spread all over 
the land in every northern household ; how newspapers 
were draped in mourning and funeral meetings were held. 

The following winter found me again in Washington at 
my post of duty as my father's secretary, still pursuing my 
college studies and keeping up with my class. This was 
the winter of '65-'66; Vice-president Johnson had become 
President. His actions led the leaders of the Republican 
party to fear a betrayal. His past private life was thor- 
oughly but quietly investigated. Many things theretofore 
unpublished came privately within my knowledge. It is 
my purpose in this chapter to disclose these several accounts 

78 



Sketches and State Secrets 



for the first time, so far as I know, as having a bearing 
upon Mr. Lincoln's assassination. They came from three 
different sources. 

The messenger of the Senate who acted as doorkeeper 
of my father's committee room was an elderly man w^ho had 
lost a large portion of his palate and, therefore, talked with 
difficulty. He had resided with his wife in Washington 
for many years, keeping house, and, of course, had rented 
out rooms to senators and members of Congress. Among 
these had been Andrew Johnson when he was a United 
States Senator from Tennessee, who had roomed in the old 
gentleman's house for several sessions. The old doorkeeper 
told me, in speaking of Lincoln's assassination, that imme- 
diately upon the news of the same being conveyed to his 
wife, she had exclaimed: "Yes, and Andy Johnson has had 
a hand in it." On my making inquiry upon what she based 
such an opinion, he replied, upon her intimate knowledge 
of Johnson's character ; that when United States Senator 
from Tennessee, he uniformly sat up drinking strong 
liquor way into the early morning, and had as associates 
hard and tough-looking characters ; seldom went to bed be- 
fore two or three o'clock in the morning, and was generally 
very drunk by midnight ; that he was disloyal to the Union 
at heart, and she believed he consorted with "rebels" — the 
name given secessionists — secretly, as Washington was full 
of them and their sympathizers. The old man assured me 
his wife was a "right smart woman," and he fully believed 
she was "almost generaly right." This aged couple were 
white people, and though of Southern extraction were of 
intense Union sentiments. They based their opinion as to 
Johnson's being accessory before the fact in the plot against 
the President — a plot at first only to kidnap, but finally 
ripened into that of assassination — from their daily obser- 
vation of the private life and the immoral character of 
Johnson. It will be seen further on that this view is con- 

79 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



firmed somewhat by other sources, more especially by the 
account of the assassination as given verbally in my pres- 
ence by ex-Governor Saloman, of Wisconsin, to which ref- 
erence is now made: 

GOVERNOR SALOMAN's ACCOUNT OF ASSASSINATION 

That gentleman was passing the winter in Washington. 
The occasion of his call at my father's residence is well 
remembered, as also the account he graphically but soberly 
and slowly gave of his personal experience at the time and 
observation of that most awful crime. He was personally 
well acquainted with Vice-president Johnson, and both were 
stopping at the same hotel, the Kirkwood — the site of the 
present Raleigh Hotel — and occupied adjoining rooms 
before and at the time of the assassination of Mr. Lincoln. 

His account was as follows : He went alone to Ford's 
Theater on the evening of the assassination ; saw the shoot- 
ing of President Lincoln there, and the assassin's mad and 
tragic leap from the theater box occupied by the former, on 
to the stage ; he realized at once what had occurred and 
attempted to get to and upon it to catch Booth, but owing 
to the crowd that speedily filled up the aisle he failed in 
his attempt, turned around and hastened out of the front 
entrance, with the intention of hurrying to Vice-president 
Johnson's room in the hotel, and apprise that gentleman of 
the murder and put him upon his guard and do whatever 
else might be deemed advisable in the premises. As soon 
as he reached the street he ran with all due haste to the 
Kirkwood, mounted the stairs and proceeded directly to 
Mr. Johnson's room, reaching it in the neighborhood of 
ten o'clock. He tried at once, and as was his wont, without 
ceremony, to open the door and enter, but to his surprise 
found it fastened ; thereupon he knocked loudly upon the 
panel and was answered by Mr. Johnson, who inquired : 
"Who is there?" He replied: "It is I, Governor Saloman: 

80 




U. S. SENATOR LYMAN TRUMBULL, ILLINOIS 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



let me in at once." Johnson unlocked and unbolted the 
door and opened it, appearing to Saloman's astonished gaze 
in his night-gown, and as having just arisen from his bed. 

Saloman was surprised, because he knew Johnson's fixed 
habit was to sit up into the small hours of the morning ; and 
he vouchsafed no reason for his early retirement on this 
particular evening. However, Saloman hastened inside, 
bolted the door and announced to Johnson the earliest news 
of Lincoln's assassination. At once Johnson began striding 
up and down his room, emitting volley after volley of pro- 
fane and blasphemous oaths against the "rebels and trai- 
tors," as he called them, and when he had apparently 
exhausted himself of his rage, he threw his arms around 
Saloman's neck, resting his head upon his shoulder and 
wept and moaned as if his heart was broken. After he had 
become somewhat quieted by copious draughts of whisky, 
he was left by Governor Saloman, who retired to his own 
room adjoining and passed a sleepless night, marvelling at 
the strange conduct of the Vice-president. 

Early the following morning Governor Saloman 
descended to the hotel office and asked the clerk for his 
mail. Upon assorting it he found a card in it with the 
following significant words written upon it: 

"Don't wish to trouble you, but are you in." 

"]. Wilkes Booth." 

He at once asked the clerk if the card was left for him 
and if so, at what hour. The clerk replied that the card 
was left for Vice-president Johnson, and it had been placed 
by mistake in Governor Saloman's box, as it adjoined that 
of Mr. Johnson's ; that it was left at about six or seven 
o'clock on the previous evening by a fine looking gentleman 
— Booth was noted for his good looks — and the clerk, pre- 
suming Mr. Johnson was not in but would be in the office 
shortly, put the card, as above stated, by mistake in the 

82 



Sketches and State Secrets 



adjoining box belonging to Governor Saloman; that the 
caller did not request to be shown to Mr. Johnson's room, 
but simply wished to leave the card as an assurance that 
he had called. 

So the clerk hastily and carelessly had put it in the hotel 
mail box, as he supposed, belonging to Johnson's room. 

After this summary explanation by the clerk, Governor 
Saloman put the card carefully in his pocketbook and said 
he would personally deliver the same to Mr. Johnson. He 
left the hotel, conscious of having in his possession a great 
state secret and almost oppressed by its burden. He wan- 
dered alone through the streets amid the excited throngs. 
What should he do ? He knew the Cabinet was to assemble, 
and at its meeting in the Treasury building Mr. Johnson 
was to be sworn in as President of the United States in 
their midst in the afternoon. He involuntarily wended his 
way to that building, and resolved to confront Mr. Johnson, 
in the presence of the Cabinet, with this tell-tale card from 
the chief executioner in the criminal conspiracy against the 
great Lincoln. He presented himself and was admitted to 
the presence of the assembled President and Cabinet. 
Gravely he related the incident of the card, as given above, 
and handed it to President Johnson, who took it and after 
examining it with placid and unruffled countenance, re- 
marked that he did not know Wilkes Booth, had never seen 
him, and that it was nothing hut sheer presumption in his 
calling upon him and leaving such a card. He spoke delib- 
erately and with much dignity and unction. Governor Salo- 
man thereupon took his leave from the new President in 
the midst of Lincoln's old Cabinet, with the great Edwin M. 
Stanton — lawyer, Secretary of War — keenly eyeing Johnson. 

The Governor finished his relation of the foregoing facts 
to my father, with the remark that he had his private 
suspicions, to which he did not desire to give utterance. I 
have endeavored to give an exact summary of the interesting 

83 



C I V I L - w A R Echoes — Charact 



E R 



private conversation mentioned, to which I was an intent 
listener. It is needless to add that the state of Wisconsin 
never had a more upright, truthful, or capable governor than 
was Saloman. Why he never published these facts I know 
not ; possibly to let them remain "state secrets." 

President Johnson's denial of any acquaintance with Booth 
was afterward established to he utterly zvithout truth. It 
was ascertained subsequently by a member of the impeach- 
ment managers in the great impeachment trial of President 
Johnson, tJwt when he had been Military Governor of Ten- 
nessee, he and J. Wilkes Booth zvere keeping two sisters as 
their mistresses in Nashville, and that they were not infre- 
quently in each other's company! For reasons of state, it 
is presumed the facts were never disclosed. This informa- 
tion came to me in a most guarded manner from my 
father, who was subsequently chairman of the Senate Com- 
mittee on President Johnson's Impeachment. His source of 
information was one of the managing members of the House 
of Representatives in that great trial, and who secured it by 
private detectives. 

Sometime afterward, during one of my father's social 
calls upon Secretary Stanton at his home, where the two 
were wont to talk over professional experiences and affairs 
of state, my father volunteered his own private opinion and 
belief as to Johnson being an accessory before the fact of 
Lincoln's assassination, but all the reply he received from 
the greatest War Secretary of ancient or modern times was 
a French shrug of the shoulders, as much as to say : "I could 
disclose a great deal of very interesting information on that 
particular subject, but it will not do to tell even you, my 
friend." 

Perhaps it may account for the grim, unprecedented tem- 
erity and tenacity which Stanton exhibited in clinging to 
his office as Secretary of War, and positively refusing to 
give it up when demanded of him by Johnson, to a man 



Sketches and State Secrets 



whom he regarded as a dangerous President, if not an arch 
conspirator. This hitherto unpubHshed information also 
may have been the secret force that impelled Congress to 
enact the celebrated "Tenure of Office Act," in order to 
enable the Secretary of War to checkmate any possible 
treasonable move that might be contemplated by Johnson 
and his coterie of friends, by authorizing Stanton specifically 
to retain his ofiice till his successor had been confirmed 
by the "radical" Republican Senate. Perhaps "the re- 
bellion" was regarded as only scotched, not killed, and the 
fear of its renewal under the more formidable Southern 
statesman — Andrew Johnson — from Tennessee being in the 
chair of the Chief Executive of the Republic ! 

Was MRS. SURRATT JUSTLY CONVICTED AND HANGED? 

Subsequent to the above-related interview, it was my for- 
tune to be present during the private relation of other 
incidents by an individual of unique personality, bearing 
upon this subject of President Lincoln's assassination. The 
relator was known familiarly as "the fighting Illinois 

PARSON.'' His name was Col. Jacokes. During his 

conversation, which was largely about his own personal 
history, he incidentally remarked that he was the exact 
"double," in facial appearance, of Jefferson Davis, and that 
that gentleman himself had so remarked to him personally 
during an interview sought and held by the Colonel, in the 
midst of the war, as a self-appointed peace commissioner, 
with the consent of President Lincoln, however, in Rich- 
mond, Va. The Colonel had obtained Mr. Lincoln's 
assent to use his own personal efforts to secure a cessation 
of hostilities, with a view to a permanent peace by some 
sort of a compromise. General Grant had given him a pass 
through his lines to those of the Confederates. After he 
had been admitted into the latter, he met and overcame 
many obstacles and annoyances from officers of the lower 

85 



Civil-war Echoes — Characte 



grade. He had to be blindfolded in going from one place 
to another, and was interviewed by this military officer and 
that civil functionary, in Richmond, until he was at last 
admitted to the presence of Judah P. Benjamin, then secre- 
tary of war of the "Confederate States of America." 

After satisfying that most astute of all the Southern 
leaders that he had no other designs than those of peace 
between the nation and the seceded states, he was duly 
escorted, blindfolded, into the presence of the "President of 
the Confederate States of America," Jefferson Davis. The 
bandage covering the Colonel's eyes was removed, and the 
first exclamation uttered by Mr. Davis was one of surprise 
at the remarkable resemblance, even to the defect of one 
eye in each, between them. 

The "fighting parson" labored long and earnestly, but in 
vain, to convince Mr. Davis of the error of his rebellious 
ways. The Colonel's errand was, therefore, fruitless, but, 
as he said, he had satisfied his own conscience and sense of 
Christian duty. He was politely treated and shown every 
consideration consistent with the existing situation. He 
returned to Washington and received an appointment from 
President Lincoln personally to do certain special detective 
work in the secret service of the Federal army. 

He had been engaged in his new occupation some months, 
when he asked for, and obtained, a leave of absence in 
order to return to his old home in Illinois to perform the 
marriage ceremony for his daughter and her betrothed. 
Sometime about the beginning of the month of April, 
1865, — the end of the first week, — he began his journey, 
going by the Baltimore and Ohio Railway, via Baltimore — 
his intention being to attend to some private business in 
New York before journeying to Illinois. He entered the 
train, and as he was passing along the aisle of the day 
coach (there were no drawing-room cars and vestibule 
trains in those days), he espied a lady dressed in mourn- 

86 




U. S. SENATOR HENRY WILSON^ MASSACHUSETTS 
LATER VICE-PRESIDENT 



C I V I L - w A R Echoes — Character 



ing, who was alone and occupied half a seat. He politely 
asked if he could seat himself in the other half, and she 
replied in the affirmative. He was soon on conversational 
terms with her, and found she was a lady of unusual intelli- 
gence, inclined to be talkative, but at times holding a strong 
restraint over herself, as if she were very much afraid of 
disclosing some important secret. The Colonel soon dis- 
covered this peculiarity and resorted to every possible effec- 
tive expedient to draw out her bursting mystery. He said 
he was a minister of the gospel, and that he constantly 
prayed for the war to cease and peace to come over the 
whole land. At last she could hold in no longer the secret 
that was fostering her vanity as being worthy to possess it. 
As the train was approaching Baltimore, she confidentially 
whispered in close proximity to the Colonel's ear, with 
startling emphasis, the information that "zvithin a few days 
the people of the North zvould receive the greatest nervous 
shock they had ever had." The intense earnestness of the 
voice, the fanatical and defiant look of the eye she exhibited, 
at once aroused a determination in his mind to ascertain all 
he could about this woman, and perhaps it would lead to 
some important disclosures in behalf of the Government. 
In order not to arouse her fears on account of the slight 
disclosure she had made, by a too abrupt and summary 
questioning as to her identity, he determined to take what 
he deemed a more delicate and chivalric mode of doing so. 
He replied simply, "Indeed !" and as the train entered the 
station in Baltimore, he courteously asked her if she would 
remain in the depot until he could secure her a cab to take 
her to her destination in the city. She replied she would, 
and the Colonel left her with the intention of securing a 
hackman who, by a liberal fee, would agree to disclose to 
him her destination. He secured the hackman, but on 
returning to the depot to get her, the bird had flown ! 



Sketches and State Secrets 



After the first chagrin and disappointment were over, he 
satisfied himself that the woman was, after all, probably but 
a mild species of "crank," and so dismissing her from his 
mind, and anxious to be with his family at home again in 
far distant Illinois, as well as not to disappoint his daughter 
in his promise, he abandoned, for the present, further inves- 
tigation for the fascinating stranger and resumed his 
journey homeward. In due time he reached his ultimate 
destination in Illinois, and basked in the warmth of a family 
greeting. A few days after the marriage of his daughter, 
he was startled by the terrible news that flashed over the 
wires announcing the assassination of President Lincoln. 
He at once started on his return to Washington, where he 
arrived in due time. It was not long before the several 
names of the active conspirators in the assassination began 
to appear before the public. 

Among these was that of a widow at whose house it 
was charged the conspirators had been in the habit of hold- 
ing their meetings. Her name was mary surratt. It was 
said that the plan at first was the kidnapping of Mr. Lin- 
coln, but as the difficulty of accomplishing that object 
seemed to increase, the plot changed rapidly in its char- 
acter to one more desperate, as the fortunes of the Southern 
Confederacy corresponded in character, and the killing of 
Lincoln, Seward, and others was resolved upon by the active 
conspirators. The great mystery was, who or what was the 
motive power, if any, behind these conspirators. The 
Colonel, after considerable search in Washington, secured a 
photograph of Mrs. Surratt, and, said he, "It zvas the 
picture of the very woman with zvhom I had ridden side 
by side in the car" on the occasion referred to above and 
who made the startling remark that had aroused his 
curiosity, and who had so neatly given him the slip. His 
opinion was that she was perhaps, only cognizant of a con- 
templated, or already-decided, plan to seize Mr. Lincoln's 

89 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



person, by the band of conspirators, and transport him into 
the Hnes of the Southern Confederacy and hold him there 
as a hostage, as a last resort to effect their independence 
and close further hostilities. The defeat of Lee by Grant 
at Appomattox had precipitated the more diabolical deed of 
murder, from that of kidnapping. 

At this distant period of time it seems almost incredible 
that a woman of Christian enlightenment, and a mother at 
that, should have voluntarily entered into a conspiracy with 
men of the well-known stamp of Booth, Harold, Atzerott, 
et al., to murder so kindly and inoffensive a man as Lincoln. 
But the military trial court was composed of as honorable 
and chivalrous chieftains as ever swung a saber on the field 
of battle ; was presided over by the late major general 
wiNFiELD SCOTT HANCOCK, onc of the most honorable of 
men, and their deliberate verdict was that she was an 
ACCESSORY BEFORE THE FACT, a participant in the conspiracy 
to assassinate Lincoln. It is due her memory, as a Mother, 
to state, that she protested her innocence to the last, both 
in the confessional and at the scaffold! She is the (only 
woman ever hung by the United States Government. 

Were all the real culprits punished with death? Were 
there other and more powerful agencies working through 
these active participants in the most momentous crime in 
history? There have been strong hints and suggestions of 
such being the fact. Did the United States authorities from 
"considerations of state" forbear in making further devel- 
opments public? 

What were the ramifications of the diabolical and traitor- 
ous conspiracy? The deed was done. Should the Govern- 
ment jeopardize its very life at a most critical period by 
possibly unearthing still further, a colossal conspiracy, 
foreign or domestic, composed perhaps of elements hostile 
even to a republican form of government? The new Presi- 
dent himself was plainly opposed to such a proceeding. He 

go 



Sketches and State Secrets 



soon completely severed his political relations with the 
Republican party which had elected him as Vice-president 
with Lincoln as President, and identified himself with their 
opponents. Never in political history was there a baser 
betrayal of party. His hostility was not passive in char- 
acter, but was intense, bitter, and malevolent, and tended 
to confirm in many ways the suspicions of even his former 
intimate acquaintances that he was beyond all question an 
accessory before the fact in the assassination of President 
Abraham Lincoln ! 

I append the following clipping, as a note : 

Assassination of Lincoln 

MRS. HARRIET RIDDLE DAVIS RELATES AN INCIDENT CONCERNING IT 

The last meeting for the season of the Columbia Historical Society, 
held last evening at the Shoreham, was enlivened with an interest- 
ing paper by Mrs. Harriet Riddle Davis, on an unpublished incident 
regarding the assassination of President Lincoln. The audience, 
which filled the hall, listened to it with close attention. 

Mrs. Davis was a little girl attending a Roman Catholic academy 
in the city at the close of the war. Her teacher, to whom she 
referred only as Miss Annie X, was a sweetheart of John Surratt, 
and according to later evidence was employed by the conspirators 
to secure a room in an F Street hotel where one of them hid, prior 
to the murder. 

"The conduct of Miss X, while teaching in the academy," said 
Mrs. Davis, "was full of puzzling surprises to the children. One 
morning just prior to the assassination of President Lincoln, she 
appeared in the school room in a state of great excitement. Her 
clothes were covered with dust, as if she had just returned from a 
long hard ride across country. 'Kneel,' she cried hysterically to 
the roomful of affrighted children, and as they fell on their knees 
the woman broke out into an agonizing appeal for help and pardon 
for some unknoivn persons who were planning a terrible crime. 
The effect of it was heightened upon the childish imaginations by 
her haggard appearance and her evidence of great distress. At the 
conclusion of the prayer she summarily dismissed the pupils for the 
day. " 

The little girl, who is now Mrs. Davis, was much perturbed by 
the affair, but none of her family paid any attention to her story 
of it, and she herself almost forgot it. Later, at the trial of John 

91 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



Suratt for complicity in the murder of the President, Mrs. Davis' 
father, Judge Riddle, was employed by the Government as one of 
the prosecutors. The jury failed to agree, and after the trial Judge 
Riddle happened to mention in the presence of his daughter that 
conviction might have been assured had it been possible to get 
Suratt's sweetheart, Miss X, as a witness. 

"Why, she was my teacher; what did she know about it?" inquired 
the girl, and then she told the story of the young woman's myste- 
rious appearance in the school room, and her agonizing prayer. 
Judge Riddle was profoundly impressed by the circumstance, and 
confirmed the facts by another girl, who had been present in the 
school at the time. Later, however, it was deemed impossible to 
get a jury in Washington that would convict Suratt, and the case 
against him was nolle prossed. All efforts to trace Miss X. proved 
useless. 

"From that time," said Mrs. Davis, in conclusion, "I never saw 
Miss X. until three years ago, when I met her face to face in a 
street car. She was more haggard than of old, and was, of course, 
aged, but otherwise she was little changed. Although our eyes met 
she did not recognize me, and I have never seen her since. I have 
reason, however, to believe that she still makes long visits occasion- 
ally to the academy where as a teacher she appeared before us on 
that eventful day." 



In passing I will say that I was reliably informed that 
during much of President Johnson's term of office, he was 
periodically visited in the White House and instructed in 
political economy and the science of government by the late 
Father McGuire, of the Jesuit fraternity. The well-known 
secrecy prevailing in this order, was, doubtless, the reason 
of such choice of an instructor. My informant was the 
late MISS EUGENIA WASHINGTON, a liberal catholic, of Wash- 
ington, D. C, founder of the "daughters of the American 
revolution/' and my esteemed personal friend. 

In order to obtain as full and reliable an account as possi- 
ble of the great criminals in the background in this assassi- 
nation, if there were any such, I mailed after the foregoing 
pages had been written, the following letter, addressed to 
my friend, hon. henry h. wells, of Washington, ex- 
Provost Marshal of the District of Columbia, later Governor 

92 




U. S. SENATOR GEORGE F. EDMUNDS, VERMONT 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



of Virginia, and subsequently United States District Attor- 
ney at Washington, D. C, now deceased : 

My Dear Sir: * * * j am engaged in writing a book, to be 
dedicated to the "Preservers of the Federal Union," one chapter being 
devoted partly to the assassination of President Lincoln — my infor- 
mation being derived from hitherto unpublished sources, and as 
related in my presence by parties witnesses on the scene. As you 
may possibly know, some people were firmly of the opinion that the 
active conspirators were backed and instigated by other ulterior 
sources — (JVas it, as has been charged, the Jesuit order?) — and 
that Andrew Johnson, Vice-president, knew of some contemplated 
action in that line, or was an accessory before the fact. * * * j 
know also that you took active participation, as did Col. Baker, in 
the capture of J. Wilkes Booth. I desire to add to my own account 
an authentic statement from yourself, or any information as to the 
assassination as well as of the capture of Booth, private or other- 
wise, that has hitherto been unpublished, for which I shall give you 
entire credit in my book. Am I asking you too much in begging 
you to favor me with such an account suggested, covering, say 
twenty or thenty-five legal cap pages? * * * 

Please favor me with an early reply. 

Sincerely your friend. 



To which I received the following: 



Washington, D. C. 

* ♦ 



"I received your letter of the nth some days since, and was glad 
to hear from you as I did not know your whereabouts until that 
time. 

I have taken some little time to consider the suggestion which 
your letter contains. I have very frequently been asked to write my 
recollections of the assassination of Mr. Lincoln and the subsequent 
trial of his murderer. Indeed I have lectured frequently on that 
subject in Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Saratoga and other places, east 
and west, but / do not think from my own investigations or subse- 
quent events, that that unparalleled crime originated from the source 
referred to in your note to me. 

My connection with the case was the result of a telegraphic order 
sent from the War Department late at night on the night of the 
assassination. 

If I should undertake to write my own recollections of that trans- 
action up to the time of the capture of Booth, it could not be done, 
I am sure, in the space which you so kindly offered in your book. 
Indeed, it could hardly be well done and properly brought within 

94 



Sketches and State Secrets 



the space of a book of four or five hundred pages. Under these 
circumstances it seems best that I should decline your very con- 
siderate proposal. 

Yours sincerely, 

H. H. Wells. 



The reader will be interested in this account of 

THE FLAG THAT CAUSED BOOTH TO FALL 

The silk flag which tripped Wilkes Booth, causing him to break 
his leg on the night he shot Abraham Lincoln, has been moved from 
the office of the captain of the watcti in the Treasury to the corridor 
in the northeast corner of the building. The removal has brought 
up the question of what ought to be done with the flag. Opinion 
is growing stronger around the Treasury and among G. A. R. men 
who know the flag that it ought to be sent to the National Museum 
for preservation. It is among the most historic relics of this 
country, and yet is permitted to grow dusty and cracked for lack 
of the attention which is given such invaluable relics at the museum. 

The flag, it will be remembered, was presented to the Treasury 
Light Guard in 1864, by the ladies of that department and other 
friends of the organization. Just after Gen. Jubal Early's raid 
in the direction of Washington, frightening many people here, a 
battalion of the Treasury employees was organized for the additional 
defense of the city. The organization maintained its existence until 
after the close of the war. Two silk flags were presented by female 
friends and admirers. In addition to the one mentioned is another 
bearing the coat-of-arms of the District of Columbia. This one is 
wraped in a piece of paper, and is also kept at the Treasury. 

On April 12, 1865, two nights before the assassination of President 
Lincoln, the Treasury Guard gave an entertainment at Ford's 
Theater for charitable purposes. The theater was beautifully dec- 
orated. On the boxes occupied two nights later by President Lin- 
coln and the White House party, were the two flags mentioned. 
They gave the boxes such a pretty appearance that the manager of 
the theater requested that the flags be allowed to remain until the 
night of the 14th, when the President was expected to be in attend- 
ance at a play. The request was granted, and on the arrival of the 
President at the theater on the fatal night, he commented with 
pleasure on the decorations, and expressed admiration for the flag 
which hangs in the Treasury. 

In jumping from the box after shooting the President to the stage 
below, one of the spurs on Booth's boot caught in the folds of the 
flag, causing him to lose his balance and fall, thereby breaking his 
leg. The rent in the flag is shown to visitors, and has been on exhi- 
bition for years. 

95 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



The flags were returned to the Treasury, and the historic one 
was some years later placed in a glass case. It has remained in 
the case to this time. Treasury watchmen take as much care as 
possible of the relic, but are not acquainted with the scientific meth- 
ods for handling and preserving such an article. Capt. Cobaugh, 
in charge of the Treasury guard, thinks that the proper place for 
the flag is the museum. All that is necessary to send it there is an 
order from Secretary Gage, and it is believed he would issue the 
order should the matter be properly presented to him. The organi- 
zation which owned the flag has been out of existence for years, 
and there could be no sentiment about keeping the flag where it is 
now. In the National Museum it would be open to more visitors 
than now, as more people go there than to the Treasury. 

The flag is free from moths in the glass case which holds it, but 
the heat in the Treasury building is injurious. If it is kept where 
it is now it will be in pieces in a few vears. 



J. Wilkes Booth's Death, by an Eyewitness 

I present from a Baltimore paper an accoimt of an inter- 
view with Rev. Dr. R. B. Garrett, of Austin, Tex., perhaps 
the only man living who witnessed the death of John Wilkes 
Booth, the assassin of President Lincoln. Although at the 
time Dr. Garrett was but twelve years old, the events are 
stamped indelibly upon his memory : 

In his room at the Howard House, Baltimore, he described in an 
interesting way the events, which occurred over thirty-five years ago. 

"My father," said Dr. Garrett, "who was Richard Garrett, lived on 
a farm about two and one-half miles south of Port Royal, Va. 
About 3 o'clock on the afternoon of April 24, 1865, three men came 
to our farm gate. Two of them wore the uniforms of Confederate 
soldiers, while the third was dressed in the garb of a civilian. The 
civilian was riding a horse, and was suffering from an injured leg. 
My father was called to the gate, and the men introduced them- 
selves as Capt. Jett, Lieut. Ruggles, and the injured man, who was 
John Wilkes Booth, although my father was not aware of it at 
the time, was introduced as James W. Boyd. The officers said that 
he had been wounded by Federal soldiers, and asked if he might 
stop until his wounds became better, or until he was able to travel. 
My father consented, and Boyd was lifted from the horse. With 
the aid of a crutch which he carried, and with the assistance of my 
father, he hobbled into the yard. My mother brought out a large 

96 



Sketches and State Secrets 



arm-chair and pillow, and the injured man was made as comfortable 
as possible on the greensward. 

"After remaining for a short time the officers who accompanied 
Mr. Boyd left. My father and myself remained in the yard with the 
injured man for some time, but as he seemed to be in considerable 
pain and not inclined to talk, he was left to his own thoughts. That 
same evening two of my older brothers, who were serving in the 
Confederate army, returned home on a furlough. When supper was 
announced we helped Mr. Boyd into the dining room, and the family, 
with the wounded stranger, sat down to supper. 

"The supper seemed to revive our guest, and during the meal his 
spirits revived and a very pleasant hour was spent. My two 
brothers, fresh from the scenes of conflict, related stories which were 
listened to with considerable interest by our guest. Both of my 
brothers wore the Confederate garb, which was torn and very much 
worn. During the meal Mr. Boyd said he had an idea of rejoining 
the forces as soon as his injury would permit, and asked one of my 
brothers if he would trade his uniform for the civilian dress worn 
by him. The suit worn by Mr. Boyd was neat, and of the finest 
texture, and my brother passed the remark off as a meaningless 
joke. Mr. Boyd was persistent, however, and finally brother declined 
for the reason that he wished to keep the uniform on account of 
the associations connected with it. After supper the hours were 
spent in general conversation until bedtime. Our guest, in the me:in- 
time, had relapsed again into a morose and thoughtful mood, and 
had little to say. He shortly expressed a desire to retire, and was 
shown to a room. My brother and I occupied the same apartment. 

"When Mr. Boyd retired, we assisted him to undress. My child- 
ish curiosity was attracted to a belt containing two big pistols and a 
pearl-handled revolver, which he hung on the bed-post. A pair of 
pearl opera glasses were also laid on a chair. 

"The next morning I awoke before the stranger. I shall never 
forget to my dying day the picture as imprinted on my mind of 
the man as he lay there asleep in bed. Such a face I never saw 
before, or never expect to look upon again. Jet black curls clus- 
tered about a brow as white as marble, and a heavy dark mustache 
shaded a mouth as beautiful as a woman's. One hand was thrown 
above the head of the sleeper, as soft and as white as a child's. 

"That morning, when he arose, he went out into the yard, and 
spent most of the time laying on a couch under an apple tree, from 
Avhich the white blossoms were falling, playing with the children. 
About noon he went into the house and asked if I could get down a 
map hanging on the wall and place it on the floor. He laid down 
on the map and traced what I supposed a course which he intended 
to take in making his escape. After considerable study he drew a 
line in pencil to Norfolk, thence to Charleston, S. C, and from 
thence to Savannah, Ga. From there he traced the line to Galves- 
ton, and from there down into Mexico. This, I think, is the only 

8 97 



Civil- WAR Echoes — Character 



clew he ever gave as to his plan of escape. I have that map still 
at home, with the lines still traced by Booth, as he lay on the floor, 
with me standing over him, in my father's house. 

"Next day my brother brought the news of Lincoln's assassina- 
tion. We were cut off from any information with the outside world 
on account of the war, although the tragedy happened only sixty 
miles away. My brother said there was $100,000 reward offered for 
the murderer, and also remarked that he had better not get in his 
way. Our guest, who had been a silent listener, said : 

" 'Why, you wouldn't betray a friend for that amount would 
you?' 

"In the afternoon Lieut. Ruggles drove up with a companion, 
who proved to be Harold, and delivered a message to the stranger. 
He immediately sent up stairs for his belt and pistols, and, after 
buckling them on, left and went out into the woods. The message 
brought by the lieutenant was that the troops were on his track, 
and had crossed the Rappahannock a few miles below the farm. 
They came back in the evening and asked if they could not sleep in 
the barn, as they said the soldiers were probably after him for shoot- 
ing a soldier a few days before in Maryland. Permission was 
granted, and they went to the barn, where a lot of refugees from 
Port Royal had stored a lot of furniture. During the night the 
soldiers arrived, and my father hearing a noise, went out to the 
barnyard. A pistol was placed at his head and he was told to 
reveal the hiding-place of a man he was concealing. My father 
denied that he was concealing any one, and a rope was placed about 
his neck. My brother then told them that two men were in the 
barn. 

"The officers asked the stranger and his companion to surrender, 
but were met with a stout refusal. Harold finally weakened and 
came out. Considerable parleying ensued, and finally it was deter- 
mined to fire the structure. A wisp of hay was pulled through a 
crack of the barn and a match applied. In an instant the flames 
leaped to the roof and a red glare was thrown around the inside. 
Through the cracks could be seen the form of Booth standing in the 
middle of the building, supported by his crutch. In his hands he 
held a carbine which Harold had left. At this instant, Sergeant 
Corbet, who died in an insane asylum in Kansas two years ago, fired 
through a crack in the wall, and Booth fell to the floor. He said 
afterward that Booth had his gun to his shoulder and was about to 
kill one of the officers. This is not so, as I was standinig within six 
feet of Corbet when he fired the shot, and Booth never made a 
motion to shoot. 

"The assassin was dragged from the barn by my brother and 
carried to the porch, where he died. My mother and sister made 
him as comfortable as possible, and the family was with him when 

98 




U. S. SENATOR OLIVER P. MORTON, INDIANA 



Civil.- \\' A R Echoes — Character 



he breathed his last. One of his long, black locks had fallen over 
Ills forehead, and this my mother cut off. His last words were: 

" 'Tell my mother I died for my country. I did ivhat I thought 
was right. 



Alas ! Alas ! What a parody on patriotism ! 
As the great Suffolk says in the Shakespeare play, 
Henry VI : 

"Great men oft die by vile benzonians : 
A Roman sworder and banditti slave 
Murdered Sweet Tully; Brutus' bastard hand 
Stabb'd Julius Csesar, savage islanders, 
Pompcy the Great; and Suffolk dies by pirates." 

Wliy have most of the leading benefactors of humanity 
had to undergo the death of the martyr? Why did the 
greatest and gentlest of all, Jesus of Nazareth, Personifi- 
cation of Divine Love, have to undergo the most horrible 
of deaths? Why did the mightiest warrior in the tide of time 
and teacher to "The Common People" — so-called — of their 
own invincible power — Nai^oleon Bonaparte — have to 
gnaw out his heart on a barren rock in the sultry southern 
sea? Why was Lord High Chancellor Francis Bacon, 
foremost scholar, philosopher and jurist of the world, hurled 
down to disgrace worse than death ? Why did the kindest- 
hearted, most thoroughly, typical of Americans — champion 
of Freedom, and Emancipator of four millions of bond- 
men and bond-women — he who had "M.\lice toward none 
and charity eor .\r.L," whose fame shall grow brighter 
and brighter, eclipsing all others of his countrymen — save 
that of WASHINGTON — he who was the personification 

of ''union, one and INSEPER.M5LE, NOW AND FOREVEr" the 

one central martyr in whose memory all patriots. North, 
South, East, and West, shall assemble whenever impending 
perils threaten our existence as a Nation— the Immortal 

100 



Sketches axd State Secrets 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN— why was he shot to death like a 
dog by an assassin? 
The answer is : 

"God moves, in a mysterious way, 
His wonders to perform.'' 

Is it not that the lesson of how transient is mortality — 
however great — may be more effectively impressed on human 
hearts? And that the good done by the martyr be ever 
remembered ? 

EXTRACTS FROM LETTERS OF JACOB THOMPSOX AND BEVERLY 

TUCKER. 

As a striking corroboration of the above-related account 
by Governor Saloman, the following extracts from letters 
of two prominent representatives of the South, written in 
1865. before President Johnson had openly exhibited his 
treachery to the party which elected him, have reached me: 

EXTRACTS FROM JACOB THOMPSON'S LETTER. 

I know there is not half the ground to suspect me as there Is 
to suspect President Johnson himself. 

First. There was an absence of all motive on my part. To have 
removed Lincoln at the time it was done was most unfortunate both 
for me and for the people of the South. This I have believed, and 
have often so expressed myself. President Johnson was to acquire 
a dazzling power in the event of Lincoln's death. 

Second. A paper is found in President Johnson's room, after the 
assassination, signed by the assassin himself, to the effect that he 
(Booth) does not wish to trouble him, (Johnson.) hut wants to knozv 
if he (Johnson) is in. Now. consider, this note is from a private 
citizen to a high official, and it is certain that if it had been sent by 
any other man at any other time, to any other official except the one 
most deeply interested in the event about to happen, it would have 
implied previous intimacy and intercourse, and a wish to have an 
interview -without witnesses, which the writer expected, crcumstances 
admitting it. 

Third. President Johnson goes to bed on the night of the assassi- 
nation at the unusual hour, for Washinigton, of 9 o'clock, and is 
asleep, of course, when an anxious gentleman leaves the bedside of 



C I V I L - w A R Echoes — Character 



the dying President to inform the new incumbent of his great good 
fortune, which filled him with unutterable distress. 

Now, mark me ; I do not say that all this creates a suspicion in 
my mind of the complicity of President Johnson in the foul work 
upon President Lincoln. But this I do say : That if such circum- 
stances could be so well taken against the Hon. B. G. Harris, of 
Maryland, Ben Wood, of New York, or Mr. Vallandigham, of Ohio, 
they would have been received in the Bureau of Military Justice as 
testimony as strong as proofs from Holy Writ. These facts may 
possibly suggest to President Johnson, and those who owe their offi- 
cial position and personal consequence to the breath of his nostrils, 
a good and sufficient reason why the excited public mind of the 
people of the United: States, which has been lashed into fury by 
well-concerted manipulations, and now demands a victim, should 
believe that there was evidence in the "Bureau of Military Justice" 
to convict Southern men— "rebels and traitors" — of having "incited, 
concerted and procured" the assassination of President Lincoln. 
But, at all events, these facts ought to teach President Johnson a 
lesson of moderation and charity to all those suspected. I feel confi- 
dent no fact, susceptible of being tortured by the shrewdest ingenuity 
into a coloring so unfavorable can be shown in truth against 
President Davis or myself, nor do I believe against any one of the 
gentlemen named in the proclamation. 

EXTRACTS FROM BEVERLY TUCKEr's LETTER. 

He, at least, who charges me with such a crime must expect to be 
dealt with as a man, not as a potentate — an individual, not the 
Chief Magistrate of a once great apd Christian country. * * * 
He shall not escape me by a dastardly attempt to throw the respon- 
sibility on the subtle tools, the venial minions in his employ. I 
intended to strike at the head, not at the tail, and if God spares my 
life, Andrew Johnson, and not I, shall go down to a dishonored 
grave. * * * 

Fearing to mete out the punishment of what he falsely names 
the treason of (Jeff Davis) a true patriot and statesman, Andrew 
Johnson's little soul seeks to suborn witnesses, and otherwise to 
obstruct the course of justice by a packed military court. He pro- 
claims to the world that Jefferson Davis is the instigator of the death 
of Abraham Lincoln, and offers from his bankrupt coffers the sum 
of one hundred thousand dollars for his head. 

But let us now look to the proof, or rather to the want of it. 

What object, then — what the rnotive for conspiracy for his death, 
when Andrew Johnson was to be his inevitable successor? Where is 
the record of his humanity, magnanimity, and mercy? Does any 
part of his public career point to the Christian virtues of charity, 
forgiveness, or temperance? Let the hearts of Tennessee, 
made desolate by his relentless cruelty, answer ! Was his 

102 



Sketches and State Secrets 



character such as to commend him to the good opinion of any 
respectable man, North or South? Let the degrading spectacle, 
recently exhibited on the floor of the Senate chamber, answer! 
Nay, nay, citizens of the United States, the people of the South had 
no interest in the death of Abraham Lincoln. They, of all others in 
the length and breadth of this Western Continent, would have been 
the last to desire or promote such an event. And Mr. Seward — 
what public man in the South did not believe him to be the only 
conservative adviser of President Lincoln, and of whom it is said 
to-day he repudiates the atrocious proclamation, and that, but for 
his illness, he would have overruled the blood-thirsty lust of his 
chief. Think you he too was a fit victim for the Southern blade? 
But let us now glance at the proof, or rather want of it, upon which 
he may rely for the conviction of the parties embraced in the procla- 
mation of the President. J. Wilkes Booth has paid the penalty, 
with his life, of having been the perpetrator of the death of Mr. 
Lincoln. The recognition of him by so many, to whom his appear- 
ance was familiar, the manner of his death and his dying declaration, 
fully attest this fact. We are, therefore, charged with complicity 
only. In the absence or suppression of all evidence to implicate us, 
we are forced to confine our inquiry to the private or public motive 
in the heart of any man in the South, or connected with her interests, 
at such a crisis, to put an end to the life of Abraham Lincoln. 

First. It is equally a maxim of common sense, and the established 
law of evidence, that no man shall be adjudged guilty of any crime 
who can not be shown to have been in a position likely to be benefited 
in some way by its commission — while the evidence fails to settle 
upon one of whom the contrary is established. Cui bono? is the 
question of questions which I respectfully put to the reflecting peo- 
ple of the United States. What object could I, or any one of those 
named in the proclamation, have had in desiring, much less conspir- 
ing for, the death of Mr. Lincoln? It is true he has proseciJited the 
war against the State to which I deemed my highest allegiance due 
with such unrelenting energy and extraordinary success as to 
destroy our last hopes. But those who knew him best claimed for 
him humane and kindly qualities that "would have plead like angels 
against the deep damnation of his taking off." The surrender of 
our armies, and the general capitulation that ensued, inspired with 
the hope that these properties would be exercised toward an over- 
powerful but honorable foe, and that kindly consideration would 
impel him to exercise his power in healing the yet fresh bleeding 
wounds of our country. Indeed, it is known that several of our 
most eminent public men, among th^m Generals Lee and Johnston, 
partaking of this confidence, promptly declared that the death of 
Mr. Lincoln was a great calamity to the South. 

Where, then, was the motive? Murder is never committed with- 
out a motive, either in interest, revenge, or some kindred quality of 

103 



Civil- WAR Echoes — Character 



the human heart. The valorous twenty-six, those valiant knights, 
who failed to capture alive, as the interests of justice demanded 
they should have done, one poor crippled youth, have sealed the 
only lips that could unravel this dark and mighty mystery. Did 
they, it has been more than once pertinently asked, act in this 
respect under instructions ; and if not. why have they so promptly 
received the plaudit, "Well done, good and faithful servants ?" 
Would it have been inconTcnient to any one to have taken him zvith 
the power to speak-' Alas! we can never know all that died with 
this daring, yet misguided young man, and we are left to grope our 
way among the motives of the living to fix complicity in this fearful 
tragedy. I have shown, in the only way open to us at present, that 
this charge can not be against the South, or any of her right- 
thinking and intelligent people ; and surelv the lamentation that has 
gone up throughout the North, from the Kennebec to the Pacific, 
at the premature demise of their beloved chief, acquits the people 
of that section of complicity in this. 

It follows, then, from this course of rea.soning, that there could 
have been no widespread conspiracy: that the plan and perpetration 
were confined to a few individuals, and to no particular section of 
the country. Did Booth commit this fearful deed with no other 
motive than that which inspired the youthful Erostratus to fire the 
temple of Diana, at Ephcsus? If so, zvhy did he call upon Mr. 
Johnson eight hours before the time fixed for his fell purpose? Did 
he call upon him zvith the dcsigJi of assassinating him, as has been 
attempted to be shozun by the nczvspapers in the interest of the Gov- 
ernment? Surely none of his acts bear out the inference that he 
was mad enough to suppose that he could murder Mr. Johnson at 
two o'clock in the afternoon, and Mr. Lincoln eight hours there- 
after, in a public theater. What, then, was the motive of his call, 
and how came Booth to address the Vice-president of the United 
States in zvords of such familiarity, showing certain acquaintance, 
if not intimacy, zvith him? 

"I do not zvish to disturb you, but would be glad to have an in- 
tcrvicxv. "J. Wilkes Booth." 

These are words of strange and mysterious import, and are not 
to be lightlj' set aside in so great a matter as unmeaning and insig- 
iiificant. Is it doubted that if ivlr. Johnson were a private citizen, 
instead of the Chief Magistrate of the United States, seeking to 
despoil honorable men of their characters, and to visit upon them 
the ignominious death of the gallows, that he would have been 
among the first brought to tne bar of that immaculate substitution 
of the indefeasible right of trial by jury, the "Military Bureau of 
Justice?" Is there one, of all that multitude of prisoners of both 
sexes — the refinement of whose tortures are made the theme of 
glowing recital in the Northern journals — who could hope to escape 

104 




U. S. SENATOR ROSCOE CONKLING, NEW YORK 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



conviction, with such a communication upon that very memorable 
day, from the confessed assassin himself? Is it impossible that 
Booth may have met Mr. Johnson in that lower circle they were 
both known to frequent, and thus hai'e formed an intimacy which a 
common vice begets? Andrew Johnson, let it be borne in mind, 
has been for many years past an almost frenzied aspirant for the 
Presidency. All the arts and appliances which the fruitful brain of 
the unscrupulous demagogue could invent and employ have been 
exhausted to attain this goal of his audacious ambition. After a 
struggle of years — and not until the States of the South, including 
his own, had separated themselves from all political connection 
with the North — did he reach the position of second civil officer of 
the Government. Then the prize, so long dazzling his vision, 
seemed within his grasp. Like Ludovico, he touched his brow 
in anticipation of the encircling diadem. 

But the illusion was short-lived, for the public and private criti- 
cisms pervading all classes upon that most disgraceful scene of 
March 4th was well calculated to dampen his hopes of the realiza- 
tion of his long-cherished aspirations, and remove farther, if not 
forever, from his grasp the glittering prize. The crimsoned blush 
of indignation and shame mantled the cheeks of ambassadors, 
senators, justices, and the lesser dignitaries that witnessed the 
disgusting scene, while the saddest countenance in all that throng 
was that of Abraham Lincoln, who, it is said, on the evening of the 
same day, at the inauguration ball, declined to recognize him. The 
prayers of a whole people — friends and foes of President Lincoln — 
ascended to heaven that his life might be preserved, and thus spare 
them the humiliation of having such a man to rule over them. Are 
we to believe that all this passed unnoticed by Andrew Johnson, 
and if not, is his the nature to harbor no resentments? That great 
master who, as if by inspiration, knew and so fearfully delineated 
the dark workings of the human heart, gives us fearful instances 
when ambition, interest, and revenge have impelled men to enact 
like crimes, and puts in ghostly lips the fearful disclosure to the 
sorrowful and half-suspecting son of the Danish monarch: 

" 'Tis given ou\t that sleeping in my father's orchard a serpent 
stung me. So the whole ear of Denmark is, by a forged process of 
my death, rankly abused. But know thou, noble youth, the serpent 
that did sting thy father's life now wears his crown." 

And how did it happen that Andrew Johnson, of all men fondest 
of demagoguing in public, should have remained quietly in his room 
upon the fatal evening when to the attraction of the theatrical enter- 
tainment was to be added a wild and tumultuous demonstration at 
the presence of the great military hero? True, it was Good Friday, 
which in most Christian countries is only wont to be celebrated by 
solemn worship and holy praise. Would that the mantle of Chris- 
tian charity could be extended, and that his seclusion could be 
ascribed to this laudable cause. And how are we to account for 

106 



Sketches and State Secrets 



the mysterious and concealed manner in which the whole of the 
judicial examination is conducted, for the avowed purpose of ascer- 
taining all the particulars of this dreadful tragedy, and of bring- 
ing the real culprit to justice? Why should the prosecutors, more 
than the alleged criminals, fear the light of day? 

And this, it is true, is but hypothesis, and yet, when you support 
it by the fact that Andrew Johnson is the solitary individual of the 
thirty-five millions of souls comprised in that land who could possi- 
bly realize any interest or benefit from the perpetration of this deed, 
and that Booth was not captured alive, as he unquestionably could 
have been, we must induce some one more plausible ere we wholly 
reject this. Dead men tell no tales, and the wantonly hushed voice 
of this unhappy man leaves behind his bloody tragedy a fearful 
mystery. 

WILKES BCX)TH's DIARY 

When Booth was captured his diary was found beside him. 
He had kept a faithful record to the last moment. This 
diary was deposited in the Department of Justice, and is now 
there. I make the following extracts : 

April 14. — Friday, the Ides. Until to-day nothing was ever 
thought of sacrificing to our country's wrongs. For six months 
we had worked to capture. But, our cause being almost lost, some- 
thing decisive and great must be done. But its failure was owing to 
others, who did not strike for their country with a heart. I struck 
boldly, and not as the papers say. I walked with a firm step through 
a thousand of his friends, was stopped, but pushed on. A colonel 
was at his side. "I shouted "Sic semper!" before I fired. In jumping 
I broke my leg. I passed all his pickets, rode sixty miles that night, 
with the bone of my leg, tearing the flesh at every jump. I can 
never repent it. Though we hated to kill, our country owed all her 
troubles to him, and God simply made me the instrument of pun- 
ishment. 

The country is not what it was. This forced Union is not what 
I have loved. I care not what becomes of me. I have no desire to 
outlive my country. The night before the deed, I wrote a long 
article and left it for one of the editors of the National Intelligencer, 
in which I fully set forth our reasons for our proceedings. He or 
the South. 

Friday, 21. — After being hunted like a dog through swamps, 
woods, and last night being forced by gunboats till I was forced to 
return, wet, cold and starving, with every man's hand against me, I 
am here in despair. And for why? For doing what Brutus was 
honored for— what made Tell a hero. And yet I, for striking down 

107 



C I V I L - w A R Echoes — Character 



a greater tyrant than they ever knew, am looked upon as a common 
cut-throat. My act was purer than either of theirs. One hoped to 
be great himself; the other had not only his country but his own 
wrongs to avenge. I hoped for no gain ; I knew no private wrong. 
I struck for my country, and that alone ; a country groaned beneath 
this tyranny and prayed for this end. And yet, now behold the cold 
hand they extend to me. God can not pardon me if I have done 
wrong. Yet I can not see any wrong, except in serving a degen- 
erate people. The little, the very little, I left behind to clear my 
name the Government will not allow to be printed. So ends all. 
For my country I have given up all that makes life sweet and holy, 
brought misery upon my familj', and am sure there is no pardon in 
the heavens for me, since man condemns me so. I have 
only heard what has been done (except what 1 did myself), 
and it fills me with horror. God ! try to forgive me, and 
bless my mother. To-night I will once more try the river, with the 
intention to cross, though I have a greater desire and almost a mind 
to return to Washington and in a measure clear my name, which 
I feel I can do. I do not repent the blow I struck. I may before my 
God, but not to man. I think I have done well, though I am 
abandoned with the curse of Cain upon me, when, if the world knew 
my heart, that one blow would have made me great, though I did 
desire no greatness. To-night I try to escape these bloodhounds 
once more. Who, who can read his fate? God's will be done. I 
have too great a soul to die like a criminal. Oh, may He, may He 
spare me that and let me die bravely ! I bless the entire world. 
I have never hated or wronged any one. This last was not a wrong, 
unless God deems it so, and it is with Him to damn or bless me. 
And for this brave boy Harold with me, who often prays (yes, 
before and since) with a true and sincere heart, was it crime in him? 
li so, why can he pray the same? I do not wish to shed a drop of 
blood, but I must fight the course. 'Tis all that's left me. 

These were the last words he recorded. 

What a picture is here presented of the state of the mind 
under which the great criminal labored ! How he still seems 
to have tried to keep up the delusion that he had performed 
a heroic act ! Not even to himself would he admit the pangs 
of remorse. Evidently he felt that he had sinned against 
the laws of God, and scarcely dared to plead for forgiveness. 
His prayers were answered that he might meet his fate 
bravely. Hunted like a wild animal, he sought refuge in a 
barn, refusing to surrender even after having been wounded. 
He defended himself to the last, and cheated his captors out 

io8 



Sketches and St a t e S f-: c r e t s 



of the triumph of being- taken to Washington alive. The 
Secretary of War saw fit to invest the death and burial of 
Booth with mystery, so that for several years it was not 
known where the body was buried. The commonly received 
story at that time was that after the remains were brou.^ht 
to Washington the Secretary examining them, had the head 
cut off, the body mutilated, and then caused weights to be 
attached to the feet, and the mangled remains conveyed to 
the deepest part of the river, and there sunk fathoms deep. 
This report was not denied until the old arsenal was de- 
stroyed, when the families of Booth, Mrs. Surratt, and the 
others who were hung for being accessory to the conspiracy, 
were notified that they would be permitted to remove the 
bodies. Wilkes Booth lies in the family burying ground at 
Baltimore. The bullet which killed Mr. Lincoln, and the 
bullet which was extracted from the head of Wilkes Booth, 
are both among the curiosities of the ]\fedical Museum, in 
Washington, D. C. 



RULERS WHO WERE ASSASSINATED 

"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." 

By sword, dagger, poison, bomb, and revolver, scores of the 
world's rulers and leaders of men have been struck down by men in 
most cases greatly inferior to them. 

The trail of blood can be traced down the centuries from before 
the birth of Christ to A. D. 1903. Almost all countries have suffered 
by the hands of assassins, and even woman has not been spared. 

One who kills by surprise or secret assault, one who treacherously 
murders any one unprepared for defense, is looked down upon by 
the world as one of the meanest cowards and lowest of criminals, 
yet royalty has not failed to descend to this means to bring about 
its ends, and royalty has suffered repeatedly at the hands of as- 
sassins. 

The terrible affair in Belgrade, Servia, in 1903, shocked the 
whole viorld, and it was the lirst of its kind in the world's his- 
tory. There is no parallel to it. Not only were the king and queen 
killed, but the queen's brothers and the king's ministers were mas- 
s.'icred. 

log 



Civil- WAR Echoes — Character 



A LONG LIST OF VICTIMS 

The most important assassinations since the world's history began 
are the following : 

Philip of Macedonia, B. C. 336. 

Julius Caesar, March 15, B. C. 44. 

Thomas A. Becket, December 29, A. D. 1170. 

Albert I, emperor of Germany, May i, 1308. 

James I, of Scotland, February 21, 1437. 

Allesandro de Medical, January 5, 1537. 

Cardinal Beaton, May 29, 1546. 

David Rizzio, March 9, 1566. 

Lord Darnley, February 10, 1567. 

James, earl of iJurray, regent of Scotland, January 23, 1570. 

William of Orange, July 10, 1584. 

Henry HI, of France, August i, 1589. 

Henry IV, of France, May 14, 1610. 

Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, August 23, 1628. 

Wallenstein, February 25, 1634. 

Archbishop Sharp, May 3, 1679. 

Gustavus in, of Sweden, March 16, died March 29, 1792. 

Marat, by Charlotte Corday, July 13, 1793. 

Gen. Kleber, at Cairo, June 14, 1800. 

Paul, Czar of Russia, March 24, 1801. 

Spencer Percival, premier of England, May 11, 1812. 

Due de Beri, February 13, 1820. 

Charles HI, duke of Parma, March 26, died March 27, 1854. 

Prince Danielo, of Montenegro, August, i860. 

Abraham Lincoln, bv Booth, April 14, died April 15, 1865. 

Michael, Prince of Servia, June 10, 1868. 

Marshal Prim, December 28, died December 30, 1870. 

Earl of Mayo, governor-general of India, February 8, 1872. 

Sultan Abdul-Aziz, June 4, 1876. 

Alexander II, of Russia, March 13, 1881. 

James A. Garfield, by Guiteau, July 2, died September 19, 1881. 

Lord Frederick Cavendish and T. H. Burke, in Dublin, May 6, 
1882. 

President Carnot, of France, June 24, 1894. 

M. Stamboloff, in Sofia, Bulgaria, July 15, 1895. 

Shah of Persia, May i, i8g6. 

Senor Canovas del Castillo, of Spain, August 8, 1897. 

Empress Elizabeth of Austria, September 10, 1898. 

King Humbert I, of Italy, July 29. 1900. 

William McKinley, at Buffalo, September 6, died September 14, 
1901. 

King Alexander and Queen Draga, of Servia, at Belgrade, June 
II, 1903. 

no 



Sketches and State Secrets 



THREE OF OUR PRESIDENTS HAVE FALLEN 

Heads that do not wear crowns may at times be uneasy, for in the 
last forty years three of the Presidents of the United States have 
fallen at the hands of assassins. When such things happen in a 
republic, composed of the most enlightened people on the face of 
the earth, it is no wonder that people governed by kings and em- 
perors occasionally strike at the mighty ones. 

In the foregoing list no mention has been made of the horrible 
succession of assassinations of the early Roman emperors. Caligula, 
the third after Augustus Caesar, was killed by some of the officers 
of the praetorian guard ; Claudius was given a dish of poisoned 
mushrooms ; Galba, Otho, and Vitellius succeeded one another very 
quickly. Each reigned a little time and was killed. 

In more ancient times assassination was not unknown, as in the 
Bible instances of Ehud and Jael, and in the murder of Hipparchus 
by Harmodius and Aristogeiton. But the assassination by enthu- 
siasts and men devoted to an idea first became really prominent in 
the religious struggles of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. 
To this class belong the plots against the life of Queen Elizabeth. 

THE MURDER OF JULIUS CAESAR. 

What the world has generally recognized as the most important 
assassination was that of Julius Caesar, called Augustus Caesar, the 
greatest Roman of them all, perhaps the greatest man of all the 
ancient world. His death and the events that followed changed the 
course of events and marked an epoch in the history of mankind. 

The story is familiar to nearly all. Emperor Cassar, of the 
Roman empire, had bitter personal enemies who plotted his down- 
fall. There were, too, lovers of the old republic who desired to see 
restored the liberties which Caesar had overthrown. The people 
got the idea that he was trying to make himself king. Several times 
a crown was offered to him in public, but he thrust it aside, although 
there is no doubt he secretly desired it. It was feared that he 
intended to make Troy or Alexandria the capital of the proposed 
kingdom, and therefore many, because of love for Rome and for the 
old republic, entered a conspiracy to kill Caesar. 

The Ides of March, the fifteenth day, forty-four years before 
Christ, the day the senate convened, witnessed the assassination. 
Seventy or eighty conspirators, headed by Brutus and Cassius, both 
of whom had received special favors from Caesar, were among the 
plotters. 

Cassar was warned by soothsayers, who had some knowledge of 
the conspiracy, and on his way to the senate meeting a paper caution- 
ing him, was thrust into his hand, but he did not read it. 

As soon as the emperor had taken his seat the conspirators 
crowded about him, as though to present a petition. At a signal 



C 1 V I L - w A R Echoes — Character 



flieir daggers were drawn. For a moment Csesar defended himself, 
but seeing among the conspirators Brutus, a man upon whom he 
had lavished gifts and favors, he exclaimed: 

"Thou, too, Brr.tus," drew his mantle over his face, and received 
without resistance all their thrusts. Pierced with twenty-three 
wounds, he fell. 

The poet Dante relates that in the center of the earth, in the 
bottom pit of hell, Lucifer holds in his three mouths the three 
greate.st malefactors the world has ever seen — Brutus and Cassius, 
who betrayed their sovereign and their country, and Judas Iscariot, 
who betrayed his Master with a kiss. 



PERSISTENT ASSASSINS. 

Henry IV, of France, had a busy life, for it is said that eighteen 
attempts were made to kill him, the eighteenth being successful. A 
knife was plunged into his heart by Ravaillac. Henry IV was the 
Bourbon's greatest king, their noblest man. 

Russia is the empire that people always associate with plots, 
bomb-throwers and assassins. Her first emperor was assassinated 
in the night between the 23d and 24th of March, 1801. His name 
was Paul, and at the time of his death he was considering a plan to 
join with Napoleon to conquer India. 

The latter part of the reign of Alexander II was a period of 
great commotion in Russia, on account of the spread of Nihilism 
and the attempts upon the emperor's life, which at last we're suc- 
cessful March 13, iSSi. In the cities in which his despotic father 
had walked about, fearless, without a single attendant, the mild and 
amiable Alexander was in daily peril. Danger lurked everywhere. 
He rarely slept twice in the same bed room, and dared to eat and 
drink only when every precaution had been taken that ingenuity 
could suggest. 

On April 16, 1866. Karakozof shot at the emperor in St. Peters- 
burg. In the following year another attempt was made by a Pole, 
Berezowski, while Alexander was at Paris on a visit to Napoleon 
III. April 14, 1S79, Soloviof? shot at him. 

The same year saw the attempt to blow up the Winter Palace, 
and to wreck the train by which the Czar was traveling from Mos- 
cow to St. Petersburg. But, despite all precautions, death came to 
him March 13, 1881. He was driving along a canal in St. Peters- 
burg, when a bomb was thrown at him, and did no more damage 
than injuring the carriage. The Czar alighted and walked toward 
the place where the police held the culprit. A second bomb was 
thrown by an accomplice, with deadly effect. It shattered the em- 
peror's legs and the lower part of his body. The man who threw 
it and a child in the crowd were killed. Many spectators were 
injured. Calling out "Help me," his majesty fell. He was taken to 



Sketches and State Secrets 



the Winter Palace, and died during the afternoon. Five of the 
conspirators, including a woman, were publicly executed. 

THE MURDER OF JAMES I 

The death of James I, of Scotland, was a spectacular event. He 
was to spend Christmas at Perth. Before he crossed the Forth he 
was warned by an old Highland woman that if he passed he would 
not return. She tried unsuccessfully to get access to him again at 
the Dominican monastery at Perth, where he lodged. 

At midnight, when he was half undressed, Graham, who had been 
banished, came with 300 men and surrounded the monastery. Their 
approach was heard, but it was found that the bolts had been re- 
moved by treachery. James was hastily concealed in a vault under- 
neath a room. Before the conspirators entered, a brave attempt was 
made by Catharine Douglas, one of the queen's maids, to bar the 
door with her arm ; but the fragile obstacle broke, and Graham 
burst in. The fall of another of the maids into the vault discovered 
the king, who fought fiercely for his life. The queen was wounded 
in trying to save him. At last, after killinig two of his assailants, 
he fell overcome by numbers. Within a month all the murderers 
were executed in a manner exceeding even the barbarous usages of 
the times. Such was the sad fate of the king who was the best 
of the Stuarts. 

It is noticeable how often the work of the assassins did not 
accomplish the real end sought. They succeeded in killinig the per- 
son or persons obnoxious to them, but the ideas, the plans of the 
victims, have not always died. Of the great Caesar, Cicero said : 

"The tyrant is dead, but the tyranny still lives." 



A BLACK RECORD 

The record of the last 100 years is unparalleled in history, in the 
matter of assassinations. 

In England, the prime minister, the Right Hon. Spencer Percival, 
was shot while he was in the lobby of the House of Commons, by 
John Bellingham. 

In Paris the Due de Berri was murdered. He had spent a num- 
ber of years in Edinburgh and London, occupying his enforced exile 
with plans for the restoration of the French monarchy. He thought 
the signs were favorable, and landed at Cherbourg in 1814 and went 
to Paris. The duke and duchess attended the royal theater one 
night. Shortly after the close of the opera, the duke escorted his 
wife to her carriage, and he returned to take part in a bal masque 
that was to follow. A spectator sprang between the sentinel and the 
footman who was closing the carriage door, and taking a strong hold 

9 113 




U. S. SENATOR REVERDV JOHNSON, MARYLAND 
LATER U. S. MINISTER TO GREAT BRITAIN 



Sketches and State Secrets 



on the duke, plunged a dagger to the hilt in the duke's right breast. 
He vanished in the crowd, leaving the weapon in the wound. 

The Duke of Parma was done to death while walking in his city. 
He was so unpopular that no one sought to rescue him. 

The deaths of Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, and William 
McKinley in our own country are so fresh in the minds of the 
people and the stories are so well known that any extended mention 
is not necessary here. The republic was shocked from boundary 
to boundary by these terrible crimes, and the criminals who com- 
mitted them paid the penalty with their lives. 

Prince Danielo, of Montenegro, was fatally wounded by a political 
refugee at Cattaro. 

Prince Michael, of Servia, was attacked by three men armed with 
revolvers, and left dead near Belgrade, the scene of the latest as- 
sassinations. 

Marshal Prim, of Spain, was waylaid in Madrid. The progress 
of his carriage was stopped by two cabs by pre-arrangement, several 
men alighted and fired into his carriage. Seven bullets went into his 
left shoulder and he died in forty-eight hours. 

Lord Mayo, governor-general of India, was stabbed by a convict 
while leaving the Andaman convict settlement after a tour of in- 
spection. 

A week after the enthronement of Murad V, sultan of Turkey, 
it was learned that the previous ruler, Abdul-Aziz, had been found 
dead, lying in a pool of glood in the palace. Five grandees were 
sent five years later into penal servitude for the crime. 

Another assassination in Turkey concerns Servia. Mehemet Ali 
Pasha, extraordinary commissioner of the porte in Albania, was 
credited with a design to hand over the country to Servia. His 
house was set on fire shortly after his arrival in Jakova, September 
7, 1878. Twenty of his escort were killed. He secured temporary 
refuge, but his hiding place was discovered and he was butchered. 

Lord Cavendish, chief secretary for Ireland, and Thomas H. 
Burke, under secretary, were stabbed to death in Phoenix Park, 
Dublin, by four men. 

President Carnot, of France, was being driven to a performance 
at the Grand Theater, Lyons, when he fell back in his carriage. 
It was learned that a man had stabbed him in the region of the 
liver. The criminal, Santo, an Italian, ran toward the president's 
carriage, holding a large bouquet, from which he drew a poinard 
while he stood on the carriage step. 

The Shah of Persia was shot while he was at the shrine of Shah 
Abdul Azim. 

Senor Canovas del Castillo, the most prominent public man in 
Spain, was shot down at his wife's feet while he was reading a 
newspaper. 

Empress Elizabeth, of Austria, was assassinated by an Italian 
anarchist named Luccheni. 

IIS 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



King Humbert, of Italy, was killed at the town of Monze, near 
Milan, after distributing the prizes at a gymnastic carnival, by an 
anarchist, Bresci. Queen Margherita cried : 

"It is the greatest crime of the century. Humbert was a good, 
faithful man. Nobody loved his people more than he. He bore 
no ill-will to any one." 



ii6 




U. S. SENATOR JAMES W. NYE, NEVADA 



CHAPTER THREE 

Society as Author Found It — Notable Receptions, Levees, 
and other Functions 

author's early diffidence — MRS. r/s reception MRS. B.'s 

DITTO SENATOR c/s DITTO — JUDGE w/s DITTO — GEN. 

grant's ditto NOTED BEAUTIES DESCRIBED COLONEL 

Forney's stag party — secretary seward — senator 
simon cameron thaddeus stevens fernando 

wood HENRY WINTER DAVIS — GEN. N. P. BANKS — 

GEN. R. C. SCHENCK ("pOKER BOB") SPEAKER 

SCHUYLER COLFAX SUPREME COURT JUSTICES, CHASE, 

MILLER, DAVIS, AND CLIFFORD MR. PHILIp's SELECT 

STAG PARTIES MAJOR R.'s DITTO ENGLISH BOATSWAIN'S 

SONG THE NEGRO "mILLION-o'-AIRS" CLUB, THEIR 

FUNNY SONGS POEMS, "fRIEND ALWAYS," "tHE PER- 
FECT WOMAN," "the STAR-SPANGLED BANNER," ETC. 




T IS urgently suggested by some of my lady 
friends that I give in these pages accounts 
of the social swim in the Capital during my 
sojourn there in war days. To this I accede 
somewhat reluctantly, as I have never been 
much of either a society or a club man. I 
had been living in Washington but a short time and was 
attending closely to keeping up with my class at college by 
pursuing my studies under my father's tutorship, when he 
suddenly seemed to realize the social advantages for me to 
be derived from entering the ranks of a society as cosmo- 
politan as that of Washington — advantages educational in 
character and as manifold almost as continental travel. He, 

ii8 



Sketches and State Secrets 



therefore, strongly urged me to accept all invitations to 
levees and receptions received. I was exceedingly diffident as 
a lad, and the misfortune was not the less as a young man. 
A rarely sensitive temperament was enhanced by a lack of 
what is popularly termed "brass" or "gall." I invariably 
shrank from prominence or publicity, and used to think 
when a boy it was chiefly on account of this excessive, 
shrinking bashfulness that I was selected about every two 
weeks by the teacher of the academy which I attended to 
deliver a "speech," which was mostly a rhetorical recitation 
of some memorized phillipic of the great Irish orators. A 
naturally chivalric instinct toward the gentler sex had been 
carefully developed and fostered by my mother. As a sus- 
ceptible and romantic school boy I early selected and 
remained steadfastly true to a fair, blue-eyed playmate, who 
almost outranked my mother in affectionate regard. 

A little bit of cruelty on the former's part as I was about 
leaving home for college — perhaps justified — left a marked 
effect on my subsequent attitude toward woman — a sort of 
indifference to, or rather dread of, her influence. As my 
mind matured my exactions in the requirements of her 
attractions increased. 

My innate reverence for her in the abstract was, and still 
is, deep and most profound. I rejoice in having had several 
invaluable friendships among my lady acquaintances. The 
disinterested friendship of a pure, honest, gentle, refined 
woman, be she in silk or calico, in many respects is the 
greatest boon vouchsafed to man. 

I have deemed it necessary to give this little insight to 
my character in order to enable my reader to judge of the 
advantages or disadvantages under which this relator moved. 
It will be seen that my social experience, outside of my 
quasi-hothouse, educational, routine life, had been quite 
limited before I reached Washington, as a college sopho- 
more, but I was alive in every fiber, and keenly observant 

119 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



of all surroundings, in robust health, with only the one 
drawback mentioned, extreme diffidence, to mar my social 
enjoyment. 

As illustrative of this mental condition, I may mention 
that among the first social functions to which I was formally 
invited, was at the large mansion of Mrs. R., an old-time 
resident of Washington, a lady of great social prominence, 
and whose drawing-room was invariably filled on such occa- 
sions with the elite of official, civil, and military life. I 
attended, after much urging, in company with my older 
brother, who was then an officer in the army, temporarily 
on duty in the War Department. He got me as far as the 
dressing room upstairs, but my heart soon failed me, and, 
"muffling up" my face, which, "all the while ran" streams 
of perspiration, I beat an ignominious retreat, and in spite 
of the remonstrances and protests of my brother, I hastened 
down the stairway, passing several galaxies of beautiful 
young ladies perched thereon for my especial delecta- 
tion! I fairly shot out of that house and into the cool 
night air, resolved never again to be "patronized" by society 
— my natural antipathy to any species of conventional 
restraint also rousing a high degree of rebellion in my heart. 

My next essay in the social field was a little more success- 
ful, although accomplished at the cost of much agony. It 
was my first invitation to an afternoon "five o'clock" at the 
home of a private citizen of great wealth, whose permanent 
home was in a leading city in the country, but who had 
purchased an old-time aristocratic residence on a conspicu- 
ous "Terrace," and with his most charming and queenly wife, 
passed the gay winters in the Capital city and gave magnifi- 
cent and most sumptuous entertainments. He was well- 
known in polite society all over the land as a cultured and 
scholarly gentleman, without any political office-holding 



Sketches and State Secrets 



aspirations. He was the possessor of a picture gallery that 
was unique and significant in that its walls held all the 
portraits in oil of the Presidents of the United States, save 
one, to wit: Andrew Johnson. 

The hostess, Mrs. B., was one of the most charming 
women I have ever met, and I recall her cordial, graceful 
and tactful hospitality with great pleasure, even after the 
lapse of a quarter of a century. She was of a prominent 
Virginia family and showed the fine breeding of her race in 
every feature of her bright and beautiful face, and courtli- 
ness of movement in her carriage. I shall never forget the 
almost motherly greeting she gave me as I timidly entered 
her reception room. Her nephew, Mr. L., and I were 
quite warm friends, and through his urgent solicitations 
added to a kind message received from his aunt, I promised 
to attend the first of the series, provided he would meet me 
in the hall leading to the reception room. Well, after I had 
walked around the square half a dozen times, I had the 
requisite courage to enter the portals, where a servant 
speedily relieved me of hat and outer coat and I was served 
with a tiny cup of coffee at the rear end of the hall, where 
other gentlemen were engaged in a like occupation. I was 
disappointed in not finding my friend there, and equally 
ashamed to make a retreat, so I managed to get to the door- 
way opening into the reception room and timidly looked in. 
I was at once recognized by Mrs. B., who smilingly ad- 
vanced toward me, and extending her hand, greeted me in 
such a charming manner as to disarm my diffidence. 

She introduced me to her maiden sister, and requested her 
to take my arm and make me acquainted with some young 
ladies. Almost before I knew it I was in the ballroom and 
dancing the only dance I had learned, "the gallop." 

It was at this function that I first met General Parker 
and his little, decidedly pronounced blonde wife. The Gen- 
eral had been a member of General Grant's staflF, on the 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



field. He was a full-blooded and strongly individualized 
Mohawk Indian; a classical scholar, graduate of an Eastern 
university; a large, afifable, courtly, gallant gentleman, in 
evening dress-suit. He was at the time, I think, Commis- 
sioner of Indian Affairs. 

My next case of embarrassment which I fully recall was 
at a very "swell" reception given by Senator C. and wife, at 
their palatial brown-stone front, to which I was invited, not 
because I was a subordinate office-holder — clerk of a Senate 
committee and private secretary — but by virtue of the fact 
that I was "a Senator's son" — a very potent sesame to 
Capital society. After having attended to our attire in the 
gentlemen's dressing room upstairs, I descended with my 
father, and as we entered the door of the reception room, 
mid the strains of an orchestra, the usher, in a perfunctory 
manner, announced the name of each. We, in turn, were 
cordially greeted by a hand-shake from host and hostess, 
and with some empty, frivolous or playful remarks, we 
passed on into the midst of a large, gorgeously-attired 
assemblage of ladies and gentlemen. Senators, Ambassa- 
dors, Justices, Generals, and other officials in their respective 
elegant regimentals, were plentiful. The reputation of the 
host for presenting a bountiful supply of good things to 
eat and drink doubtless had much to do with drawing 
together such a distinguished company. The ladies, of 
course, were of the highest social rank, and the splendor 
of their adornments was bewildering. No bird of beauteous 
plumage ever strutted in more vain delight than did some 
of the granddames in silks, satins, velvets, and precious 
gems on almost every visible portion of their person. All 
the great ones in society were present. At the time for 
refreshments I descended to the basement, which was used 
for the purpose, escorting a lady with whom I was very 
well acquainted, considerably my elder, of great beauty 




U. S. SENATOR ZACHARIAH CHANDLER, MICHIGAN 
LATER, SECRETARY OF INTERIOR 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



of face and figure — one of the Southland's rarest flowers. 
She was exquisitely gowned in a mauve pink silk, very low 
neck with two rows of large white pearls strung together 
and attached to the border of her bodice at the top. Her 
neck and shoulders I have never seen surpassed but once, 
and that was by a lady whose first husband was one of the 
most distinguished senators of the United States and whose 
name, up to the breaking out of the "War of the Rebellion," 
was a household word, and her second and present husband 
was an officer of high rank in the United States army, and 
who is elsewhere described in these pages. 

As we were waiting to be served in the midst of the 
crowded throng, I observed General William Tecumseh 
Sherman and another distinguished gentleman gradually 
approaching us, the General all animation and admiration. 

They stopped at a little distance- away and I heard the 
General observe, sotto voce, to his friend, "Ye Gods ! Judge, 

what a magnificent bust and figure Mrs. has !" To 

which the other replied in the affirmative. The lady herself 
did not hear the complimentary remark of General Sherman. 

On my stating that I had just heard that distinguished 
man make a highly complimentary remark about her person, 
she asked me what it was. I replied I was afraid it would 
offend her did I repeat it. She said it would not, and 
demanded of me to tell her. I did so, and playfully re- 
marked that ladies' figures and busts depended largely on 
the kind of corsets they wore. She replied she wore none 
at all, and to prove it she playfully placed my hand on 
her side at the waist to see if she told the truth. I found 
her statement confirmed ! — but, she was from a section of 
the republic "whar," — to use the words of a native to 
myself — "are raised the most beautiful women, suh, the 
bravest and largest men, suh, the finest horses, suh, and the 
best whisky, suh, on top of this y'earth, suh !" 

124 



Sketches and State Secrets 



Shortly after this little episode, I found myself with a 
fair young lady partner, noted for her refinement and purity 
of character, and who was passing the winter social season 
in Washington, at the head of a set in the "Lancers." Our 
backs were toward the front drawing room and we stood 
just in the opening between the two rooms. As we were 
waiting for the set to be filled our attention was for the 
moment attracted to some kind of movement going on 
immediately behind us in the crowd. 

We both turned simultaneously and were greeted with 
a sight never to be forgotten. As the people parted, we 
beheld approaching through the lane thus made, a large, fat, 
woman, with exceedingly low bodice and sleeveless dress 
and almost literally covered with precious gems as to her 
head, neck, bosom, arms, and hands. She was followed by 
a little short, stufify gentleman arrayed in diplomatic cos- 
tume. I think this couple were the Brazilian minister and 
wife. Just before the latter arrived near us and as she was 
stooping forward, she exposed her bosom in a very dis- 
gusting manner by m^eans of the "low and behold" style of 
her gown ! I was exceedingly embarrassed and cautiously 
took a look into the face of my gentle partner. I shall never 
forget the contemptuous look of offended purity and of 
disgust that was stamped upon it ; she did not try to conceal 
it. I mention this scandalous scene to point a moral and 
adorn a tale. Modesty is woman's chief charm, either in 
speech or in act. Let my fair reader profit by this related 
scene ; such is my sole purpose in describing it. Vulgarity 
and immodesty are close in kinship. 

The refreshments for the inner man were not in the least 
disappointing. Champagne was literally more plentiful 
than water. There was everything to tickle the palate that 
money could supply. A foreigner looking on this scene of 
gaiety and splendor would not have dreamed that "grim- 
visaged war" had lately been rife in the land, and that 

125 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



thousands of poor, wounded, and fevered soldiers and sailors 
were stretched upon hard cots in hospitals, trying to recover 
from the hardships of the field or prison pen. 

I recall a very delightful reception at the home of Judge 
W. and wife, both old-stock Virginians. The house was 
located facing a prominent "Circle" (a hub of intersecting 
streets), large, brick, roomy and old-fashioned. Many peo- 
ple of distinction in the city were present. I happened to 
be invited because the judge and his most estimable wife 
were especial friends of my parents. 

While strolling about through the crowded rooms I 
passed through the front hall and saw standing there, 
engaged in solitary conversation, two of the foremost figures 
of the war — in some respects the diametrically opposites of 
each other. One was General Ulysses S. Grant, the other, 
General Benjamin F. Butler. I stopped, retreated to a quiet 
corner, and closely watched their faces and actions. Their 
relative positions and attitudes led me to believe at once 
that Butler had laid in wait, and in some way had mildly 
entrapped Grant to stop in that identical spot and submit 
to an unsought and disagreeable interview. I think this was 
not long after Grant had made his famous report about 
Butler being "bottled up." Of course, I was surprised to 
see these two generals of such antagonistic proclivities to- 
gether. Grant had an annoyed look upon his face, but also 
a stolid, calm, sphinxlike expression. It was not haughty 
nor contemptuous in the least. It seemed to say: "I am 
equal to this cunning and astute man, but I must not oflFend 
him causelessly." Butler, on the other hand, had the aspect 
of an eager cross-examiner. I could not catch the words 
of either and did not try to do so. I only noticed that Butler 
did the most of the talking and Grant replied generally in 
monosyllables. 

126 



Sketches and State Secrets 



The picture impressed itself indelibly upon my memory. 
The facial actions were characteristic of each general. They 
soon separated, but not before I availed myself of the oppor- 
tunity to shake the hand of each. Butler's hand was cold 
and soft, and his hand-shake was listless and perfunctory. 
His face had no color in it. Grant's hand was small, fiesh 
firm and strong. His face was full of color, and his manner, 
most affable dignity. This party of Judge W.'s was a noted 
society event, but so long a period of time has elapsed that 
I can not recall any other notable personages as present 
than those of the two already mentioned. Mrs. W. was a 
lady of fine accomplishments and a rare conversationalist, 
descended from a long line of distinguished Virginia ances- 
tors, who filled many of the highest civil offices in the 
Republic. 

One of the most recherche receptions I ever attended 
was at the residence of General Grant when he was General 
of the Army, and living in the house presented him, formerly 
the home of Senator Stephen A. Douglas. After the quiet, 
cordial, and unaffected greeting by the General and his 
equally hospitable wife, I was soon perambulating through 
the crowded apartments, fragrant with the perfumes of 
flowers and filled with the soft and low strains of music 
by an unseen orchestra. There was a predominence of 
epaulets and gold-fretted fixings, showing the Army and 
Navy were well represented. It was a particularly brilliant 
scene from a society standpoint. 

All the social leaders, men and women, were present. As 
I passed through a large drawing room my attention was 
at once attracted to a little collection of gentlemen, number- 
ing, perhaps, six or eight, who formed a half circle in front 
of a woman of semi-divine mold, engaged in an animated 
conversation, apparently, with the entire party about her. 
Her matchless violet eyes sparkled with the intoxication 

127 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



received by the adulation offered her from such a splendid 
male presence hanging on to her words and in rapt adoration 
of her superb personality. Her noble, low, broad, marble 
white brow was crowned with dark hair, parted in the 
center and brushed plainly and close to the head. I shall 
not attempt to describe her divine, oval face, but the poise 
of the rounded head and the most perfect neck, shoulders, 
and bust ever vouchsafed to woman, were simply irre- 
sistably ravishing. I did not wonder that this superb crea- 
ture — a veritable goddess as was ever conceived in poet's, 
painter's, or sculptor's brain — had such power of attraction 
over man, and had speedily brought to her feet one of the 
greatest statesman that ever honored the Senate chamber, 
Stephen A. Douglas, and, after his death, one of the hand- 
somest and most gallant officers in the Army. 

I, a youngster, dared not intrude near the charmed circle 
and so was compelled to stand at a distance and admire her. 
It was for me a dumb show, but one never to be forgotten. 
I fairly feasted my budding aesthetic passion for female 
beauty, as I saw before me my ideal of it. I stood and 
gazed upon this divinity until I began to think I might be 
taken for a private detective or an idiot, and so by an 
unwritten law of good breeding, never to be outraged or 
broken, I cut short my rapturous entrancement and passed 
on to another quarter of the mansion, where my eyes were 
again greeted with another vision of female loveliness. 

Clinging to the arm of one of the Empire State's most 
distinguished and most majestic senators — himself an 
Apollo-Hyperion, with reddish-yellow curly hair crowning 
an imperial head that rested some six feet two inches or 
more above the velvet carpeted floor, whom my reader can 
readily identify, was one of America's fairest and renowned 
women. She was the brilliant and adored daughter of a 
great man who was a leading member of Lincoln's Cabinet, 
and subsequent thereto the presiding officer of the highest 

128 




U. S. SENATOR JOHN SHERMAN, OHIO 
LATER, SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY AND SECRETARY OF SVATE 
10 



Civil- WAR Echoes — Character 



judicial tribunal in the world. It was believed, even then, 
she was not happily married to her little senator husband. 

But what a magnificent appearance this arm-linked couple 
presented this evening as they slowly passed along. She 
was the personification of grace in the movement of head 
and body and carriage generally. Her head and face were 
small and wholly feminine in contour, resting upon perhaps 
the most perfectly swan-like neck ever molded by the Divine 
Sculptor. Her neck and poise of head were her distin- 
guishing physical features. Her eyes were large and dove- 
like ; her skin like wax in its purity ; her hair simply dressed, 
and her toilet and jewel adornments beyond my descriptive 
powers. I gazed at this couple with their marvelous endow- 
ments of physical perfection, perhaps as I did at the partici- 
pants in the first opera I attended in New York — L'Africaine 
— when I was unconsciously but literally transported, 
psychically speaking, to tHie "seventh heaven." I was 
greatly fascinated and seemed for the time to be in another 
and higher or grander existence, where the immortals had 
come to mingle awhile among the poor, earth-born plod- 
ders and wranglers for the necessities of mundane existence. 

These two people were intended by their Creator for each 
other, judging from external appearances. Unfortunately, 
each was already married, and, if public rumor was true, 
each was unhappily mated. The lady subsequently evoked 
the sympathies of the entire nation in her divorcement. 

She was ambitious, proud, and high-spirited, and rightly 
resented the reported ill-treatment received from a husband 
whom she was precipitately induced to marry from reasons 
of state perhaps as much as any thing else. She was 
primarily devoted to her distinguished father and his per- 
sonal interests and ambitions. She should have married 
years before, her escort of this evening, and, perhaps, would 
have been the guiding star that would have prevented his 
political shipwreck. 

130 



Sketches and State Secrets 



Another very charming lady with whom I danced the 
lancers, was the cherished daughter of a senator from the 
far west, and who was born in New York City. She 
inherited much of her father's wonderful brilliancy and wit. 

Our vis-a-vis was a couple composed of a son of a promi- 
nent senator and a young lady in rather outre and extrava- 
gant attire. The latter, as soon as the dance opened, began 
to put on all the scallops and genuflections imaginable, and 
at once betrayed her provincialism, attracting, of course, 
general notice. The looks upon the distressed face of her 
partner and the aside comments made to me by the witty 
young lady at my side, were almost too much for me to 
suppress my risibilities. Some people in company are only 
happy when they draw attention to themselves by really 
uncouth conduct. 

"stag parties " 

Some of the most interesting and entertaining social 
functions given in Washington during my eight years' 
residence were those popularly known as "stag parties," or 
for gentlemen alone. There were many and frequent card 
parties and dances held by the permanent guests in the 
leading hotels which were quasi-public in character. There 
were also little private select levees and receptions which 
it would plainly be improper for me to take the public into, 
unbidden. I have purposely forborne giving my reader the 
names of characters described, save that of General Grant, 
so far in this chapter for obvious reasons, but I see no 
impropriety in presenting the names of gentlemen renowned 
for their "stag" hospitality, or those also whom I met at 
their receptions. 

I think the first really "swell" stag party I ever attended 
was given by Col. J- W. Forney, Secretary of the Senate. 
His residence was upon Capitol Hill just at its brow, near 

131 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



the House wing of the capitol. He was noted for his 
Epicureanism, especially his "Terrapin" salad. I arrived in 
due season and found myself in the midst of many of the 
most distinguished public men of the nation, irrespective 
of party affiliations. The Colonel himself was a typical host. 
He was rather of the dramatic cast of personality in his 
demeanor, language, and action. He was, indeed, an inti- 
mate personal friend of a man whom I shall ever regard 
as the greatest of all American actors — Edwin Forrest. 
Colonel Forney was a distinguished citizen of Pennsylvania. 

Well, let me see, who was present in that company. Here is 
William H. Seward, Secretary of State in both Lincoln's 
and Johnson's cabinet ; a wee, little, frail, dried-up body, 
surmounted by an immense head of oblong dimensions and 
covered with a mass of iron gray hair ; not very high fore- 
head, but broad and deep from front to line of ears ; calm, 
steel gray eyes, deep set, and heavily fringed by eyelashes 
and eyebrows ; an enormous Roman nose, but well formed ; 
rather a sensuous mouth, smooth shaven face, showing a 
rather receding chin, which was drawn in and down. His 
diminutive body, large head, and face made him a marked 
personality aside from his great reputation as a statesman. 

He was conversing with another man who resembled him 
in appearance in a marked degree — Simon Cameron — first 
Secretary of War in Lincoln's cabinet, afterward United 
States Senator, and father of Senator Don Cameron. 

There is old Thaddeus Stevens, of Pennsylvania, the 
greatest "Commoner" this covmtry has ever produced. A 
leader of leaders, ironical, sarcastic, incisive, apt, fearless, 
a master in debate. His face was large, imperious in bear- 
ing, bloodless; large, strong, aquiline nose; square jaw; 
grand forehead ; eye of an eagle ; massive head covered 
with an old faded wig that was generally askew. He 
limped when walking, being afflicted with a deformed 

132 



Sketches and State Secrets 



foot. He was the leader of the RepubHcans in the House 
of Representatives — the champion of "greenback" money. 

Here is Fernando Wood, representative from New York 
City. A cold, haughty, stiff, formal, polished gentleman 
of the old school "befoh-the-wah." Tall, straight as an 
Indian, coat invariably buttoned up to the neck; standing 
high shirt collar ; clean shaven face, save a snow white 
mustache ; rather military in bearing, and elegantly attired. 

Here is Henry Winter Davis, representative from Mary- 
land. What a winsome, clean-cut, scholarly, thorough- 
bred gentleman ! Handsome as a picture, with black curly 
hair, surmounting the face and head of a Greek god ; a 
voice as seductive and winning as a morning thrush ; alto- 
gether a most delightful personality and withal an orator 
of the highest order, and to whose silvery voice the whole 
House invariably listened with delight and pleasure. He 
stood in the same relation in the House of Representatives 
that Senator James W. Nye did in the Senate — both in- 
comparable orators. 

I am now shaking hands, and shortly quaffing champagne, 
with Gen. N. P. Banks, ex-speaker of the House; a 
gentleman of very courtly manners, sonorous and musical 
bass voice, rather low beetling brow, stiff iron-gray hair, 
heavy mustache and imperial only ; decidedly military in 
appearance, straight, alert, and very affable. His conver- 
sation was clean and free from any lapses ; his diction lofty 
and scholarly. In tones and style of language he closely 
resembled Charles Sumner. 

I am now standing before that" sturdy, soldier-statesman- 
patriot. Gen. Robert C. Schenck, representative from 
Ohio, afterward Minister to Great Britain, and chief tactical 
expounder to the benighted heathen of that little provin- 
cial island of the beauties and rules of the American 
national game of cards known popularly as "draw poker." 
What a personification of pugnacity Schenck was in per- 

133 



Civil- WAR Echoes — Character 



sonal appearance, and his looks did not belie his real char- 
acter ! He was rather light and fair as to complexion ; 
round bullet head, square jaw, half closed eyes, close-cut, 
bristling hair, stubby mustache, thick-set sturdy frame, 
short neck, quick and impetuous in action, and brusque in 
speech — a jolly, hearty, wholesome, big-souled patriot. 

And who is it he is talking to so anin;atedly and jocosely? 
Why, it is Speaker Schuyler Colfax, afterward Vice-presi- 
dent; a lightly built, lithe, nervous, colorless gentleman, 
with a perennial smile — always and ever smiling and cor- 
dially greeting by name every one whom he has ever met 
and who approaches his presence. He was a mild, agree- 
able, intelligent, decisive man, of great natural and acquired 
capacity, who absorbed parliamentary law, and masterly 
administered the same with great credit. I knew him per- 
sonally, and can not believe there was any dishonesty in 
his character. He was an inveterate smoker of cigars, and 
probably died from the excessive absorption of nicotine. 
He never drank liquors of any kind for the reason, as he 
said to me, because he was afraid of them. 

At this little card table, playing the absorbing game 
known as "Blitz," were seated the four largest, and, by 
reason of their official stations, the most important gentle- 
men present. They were, respectively. Chief Justice S. P. 
Chase, of Ohio; Associate Justices Samuel F. Mil- 
ler, OF Iowa; David Davis, of Illinois, and Nathan 
Clifford, of Maine — all of the Supreme Court of the 
United States. A brief personal description of their ap- 
pearance and analysis of their characters must suffice here. 

Chase was a finely proportioned man in the neighborhood 
of six feet in height, compactly built, and with a sort of 
shuffling gait in walking, or rather a springing from the 
toes. 

134 




U. S. SENATOR JAMES HARLAN, IOWA 
LATER, SECRETARY OF INTERIOR 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



He had the scholarly stoop to his shoulders. His face 
was large, aristocratic, refined, handsome, and in perfect 
proportions, with a preponderance to forehead, which was 
large, high, and wide. His hair was thin and slightly curly, 
dark brown and gray. His face was clean shaven ; mouth 
somewhat sensuous and sensitive ; chin well-molded and 
decisive. 

He was an exceedingly fine looking man, courtly, and 
affable. In early manhood he had gone to Washington 
and taught a select school there. I was told by an old lady 
resident that she attended his school and that he was very 
poor and scantily clad ; that the children used to laugh at 
his odd walk; he usually wore low shoes and his trousers 
were very short and badly worn around the knees and 
ankles, showing his faded blue socks ; that in those days he 
was a very bashful man in the presence of ladies. Justice 
Chase was regarded more as a statesman than as a jurist. 

Justice Miller was esteemed, by Republican lawyers espe- 
cially, as the ablest constitutional jurist on that bench. He 
was a man of powerful build, immense chest and square 
shoulders ; a strong, sturdy, vigorous, alert, honest, fearless 
man, thoroughly devoted to truth. His face was massive 
and commanding when in repose ; when engaged in con- 
versation it lighted up with wrinkles of smiles all over, and 
a gentle, kindly glance shot from his sparkling eyes. It 
suggested the good, kind, family physician. In fact, in 
early manhood he was a practicing physician and abandoned 
the practice of medicine for that of law. His head was 
large, forehead broad, and full over the eyebrows ; strong 
aquiline nose, firm mouth, square, finely proportioned chin. 
His grasp of legal and constitutional principles was pro- 
found. He brushed away small technicalities and quibbles 
that stood in the path of his search for great underlying 
principles of right. He believed in the eternal supremacy 

136 



Sketches and State Secrets 



of the Federal Government; that this is a Nation and not 
a Confederacy. He was the antithesis of Chief Justice 
Taney of Dred Scott reputation. His rank should be by the 
side of John Marshall. Living in the same hotel with him 
I saw much of him, and am happy in this opportunity to 
bear my brief and humble tribute not only to his charming 
personal character, but to his great intellectual qualities as 
well. 

Justice Davis was a man of immense avoirdupois — must 
have weighed in the neighborhood of three hundred pounds. 
There was nothing striking about his face unless it was that 
it suggested a satisfied, contented spirit and a fondness for 
a good, square meal. His forehead was rather low, but full 
and square, Roman nose, rather drooping eyelids, beard, 
but no mustache. He was brilliant and somewhat voluble 
in speech, and was generally regarded as politically ambi- 
tious even before he resigned from the bench to enter the 
Senate. He was afflicted with the same form of moral 
myopia that troubled Justice Chase, to wit : an inordinate 
desire to become President of the United States. This 
well-known inclination on his part detracted from his weight 
as a jurist, but like Chase the bee had entered his bonnet. 
Davis was an inordinate eater. It was said at the hotel 
that Justices Davis, Clifford, and Senator Morton, of In- 
diana, ate more food than any other twelve ordinary people ! 
In the matter of liquid appetizers they were all abstemious — 
none being addicted to the use of heavy liquors. 

Justice Clifford was noted chiefly for his corpulency, 
grave solemnity, immaculate linen, and white necktie. He 
must have weighed over three hundred pounds also. It 
was humorously charged that when he was about to prepare 
a legal opinion he sent word to the librarian to send him all 
the books on a given subject and its kindred. Two or 
three hand carts would be required, and the ponderous jus- 

137 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



tice would load them all into his opinion in some way like 
he did the immense quantities of food into his stomach ! 

But this was undoubtedly libelous and due to his strong 
Democratic partisanship. 

Another prominent host who used to entertain his friends 
in a most sumptuous manner was a Mr. Phifips. This 
gentleman was a merchant of wealth, owning a superbly 
furnished house on K street. He held open house to his 
friends and their friends every Sunday evening. The floors 
were inlaid hard woods, oiled and waxed, and covered only 
with magnificent skins of lions, tigers, white polar, and 
black bears, etc., etc. 

The walls were adorned with rare old oil paintings. An 
upright grand piano stood in the back drawing-room upon 
which at intervals during the evening a hired lady singer 
played an accompaniment to her beautiful soprano voice. 
In the rear was a dining-room, the perfection of taste, and 
in the center of it a large oval table literally loaded with 
every conceivable kind of food and liquors. The colored 
waiters, in full dress, stood around the table to serve the 
guests. One could have any kind of wine or liquor he 
desired, but no water. I was invited to attend this gentle- 
man's function by my warm, personal friend, John Jay 
Knox, who was then Comptroller of the Currency. It was 
a most enjoyable and memorable occasion. 

By urgent requests, General Banks, one of the guests 
present, in his deep, sonorous voice, recited the following 
old, anonymous poem, entitled: 

The Knight's Toast 

The feast is o'er ! Now brimming wine 
In lordly cup is seen to shine 

Before each eager guest ; 
And silence fills the crowded hall, 
As deep as when the herald's call 

Thrills in the loval breast. 

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Sketches and State Secrets 



Then up arose the noble host, 

And smiHng cried : "A toast ! A toast ! 

To all our ladies fair ! 
Here, before all I pledge the name 
Of Staunton's proud and beauteous dame,- 

The Lady Gundamere !" 

Then to his feet each gallant sprung, 
And joyous was the shout that rung. 

As Stanley gave the word ; 
And every cup was raised on high. 
Nor ceased the loud and gladsome cry, 

Till Stanley's voice was heard. 

"Enough, enough," he smiled and said. 
And lowly bent his haughty head; 

"That all may have their due. 
Now each, in turn, must play his part, 
And pledge the lady of his heart, 

Like gallant Knight and true !" 

Then one by one each guest sprang up, 
And drained in turn the brimming cup, 

And called the loved one's name ; 
And each, as hand on high he raised. 
His lady's grace or beauty praised. 

Her constancy and fame. 

'Tis now St. Leon's turn to rise; 

On him are fixed those thousand eyes; — 

A gallant Knight is he ; 
Envied by some, admired by all ; 
Far-famed in lady's bower and hall — 

The flower of Chivalry. 

St. Leon flash'd his kindling eye. 
And lifts the sparkling cup on high ; 

"I drink to ONE," he said, 
"Whose image never may depart ; 
Deep-graven on this grateful heart, 

'Till memory be dead. 

"To ONE whose love for me shall last 
When lighter passions long have passed, 

So holy 'tis and true ; 
To ONE whose love hath longer dwelt, 
More deeply fixed, more keenly felt, 

Than any pledged by you !" 

139 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



Each guest upstarted at the word, 
And laid a hand upon his sword, 

With fury-flashing eye; 
And Stanley said : "We crave the name, 
Proud Knight, of this most peerless dame 

Whose love you count so high." 

St. Leon paused, as if he would 

Not breathe her name in careless mood, 

Thus lightly to another; 
Then bent his noble head as though 
To give that word the reverence due, 

And gently said: "My Mother!" 

This was very appropriately followed by one of the 
loveliest old English ballads, rendered by Mrs. Fannie 
Hart Joslyn, formerly of London, later of Detroit, in the 
most superb contralto voice ever given woman, and who 
kindly consented to "sing just one song for the occasion," 
by special invitation. Here are the words : 

Likeness of the best of mothers ; 

Oh, how dear thou art to me ! 
As I thus behold thine image, 

Fancy bears me back to thee ! 

Brighter far the fond resemblance 

Than the artist's hand can trace, 
[In my soul there shines reflected 

All thy goodness and thy grace.]— 2 — :||; :||: 

Mother dearest, best and kindest, 

Thou art gone so far away! 
: 1 1 : Would thine eyes were on me smiling. 

As upon thy breast I lay. — : || : : || : — (3 times) 

Oh, return, my dearest mother. 

For I pine for thee alone. 
And the world is sad without thee; 

All my joy with thee is gone. 

All my longing, all my yearning — 

Is thy loving face to see ! 
: 1 1 : Oh, I can not live without thee, 

Let me fly again to thee. — : || : : |1 : — (3 times) 

140 




U. S. SENATOR TIMOTHY O. HOWE, WISCONSIN 
LATER, POSTMASTER-GENERAL 



Civil- WAR Echoes — Character 



General Banks was then persuaded to give another reci- 
tation, and chose the following poem by D. R. Locke — 
("Petroleum V. Nasby") : 

"Let Me But Touch His Ganiirent" 

"Let me but touch His garment" — on death's very verge, 

All soaked and sodden with impure desires, 

With blood thrice heated with hell-lighted fires. 
No power less than His the sun-stained man can purge. 

"Let me but touch His garment;" I came not as came 

The Syrian woman, whose despairing wail 

Went up to heaven for her frail body's ail : — 
A bruised and sinking soul hath much the better claim. 

"Let me but touch His garment" — in my sorest need 

His side I cling to, for I know and feel 

The man-enveloped God hath power to heal : 
Let me but touch the hem, I shall be well, indeed. 

"Let me but touch His garment" — stand ye all aside. 

Nor access to my soul's relief deny; 

A lost soul writhing, shrieks in agony — 
Who hath better claim? I will not be denied." 

A fitting finale to a Sunday evening's entertainment by 
a charming host and long to be remembered by this relator. 

Mr. Philip gave these receptions on Sunday because on 
week days his guests being high Government officials could 
not or would not care to attend a stag party, on account of 
their official duties, and besides it tended to remove the 
ennui of Sunday. His house was subsequently occupied, I 
believe, by the British Commissioners, who negotiated the 
Alabama claims, or the "Washington Treaty," so-called. 

The last and most interesting stag party I attended in 
Washington was given by Major R., an army officer, who 
had been dismissed from the army by a summary order 
of the Secretary of War. He desired to be restored and 

142 



Sketches and State Secrets 



was resorting to every possible means to accomplish that 
result. He was a civil appointment, a native of New York 
City and the son of a prominent judge of that place. He 
was quite a handsome fellow and believed thoroughly in 
the efficacy of high social influence ; therefore, he decided 
to give a function to his influential friends and their friends. 
The Major had seen considerable staff service, and, as a 
natural consequence, had learned the qualities of different 
liquors — but personally preferred "old rye." 

After the "shank of the evening" had passed, by some 
playing cards, others chatting, joking, and smoking, the 
eatibles were brought into the rooms — the Major's quar- 
ters were a flat on Pennsylvania Avenue, in the neighbor- 
hood of Willard's Hotel — from a neighboring restaurant, 
consisting of clams, oysters, shrimps, crabs, salads, and an 
immense platter of olives. 

Champagne flowed freely. After the food was disposed 
of, a few humorous little speeches were made, and the fun 
grew fast and furious. The Major limited his occupation 
chiefly to carrying around a huge demijohn of old rye on 
his right forearm, and insisting upon every one he met 
having his glass filled with that beverage, no matter what 
it had previously contained ! He at last got us all lined up 
around the room, glasses in hand. 

Standing immediately to my left was a "loud" member 
of the Austrian Legation, with monocle in his left eye, long 
yellow mustache twisted up over h'is ears, and his clothes 
were "built" in the highest art of the tailor. He had 
already entered the silly stage of inebriety. The Major 
came along the line, filling each glass from the demijohn 
on his arm, and when all were filled, he would propose the 
toast, "You know how 'tis yourself!" My Austrian neigh- 
bor was the reported cause of the domestic infelicity of 
Senator Charles Sumner. He certainly showed great 
astuteness on this occasion, when, instead of drinking the 

143 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



strong liquor he tried to toss it over his shoulder out 
through the open window, but owing to his unfortunate 
condition simply poured it down the back of his dress coat ! 
I kept my own head by quietly and quickly emptying my 
glass at each round in a cuspidor at the side of my feet 
without attracting the attention of the other guests. After 
I had enjoyed the sight of my neighbor drenching his back. 
I called his attention to it, greatly to the hilarity of the 
occasion. The sport increased, interspersed with songs and 
dramatic recitations ; among the former was the following 
little English boatswain's song, rendered in an excruciat- 
ingly funny manner, by a purser of the navy — great stress 
being laid upon the first word of each line, as the oars are 
supposed to strike the water, with a short pause. 

English Boatswain's Song 

'S'not! leavin hold Hingland I cares about; 

'S'not ! leavin my hown native land. 
'Hits ! leavin the harms of my pollywog, 

Vithout e'en a kiss of the hand ! 

CHORUS 

Sing ! Too-ral-i-oo-ral-i-ooral ! 

Chant ! too-ral-i-oo-ral-i-ay ! 
Warrrble ! too-ral-i-oo-ral-i-ooral ! 

Chorus ! too-ral-i-oo-ral-i-ay ! 

Hi ! vish that some sveet little seagull, 

Vould ! give me it's vings for to fly ! 
Hi'd ! fly to the harms of my pollywog, 

Hand ! on her sveet bosom I'd die. 

— Chorus: 

Hits ! the capting as veil as the boatswain, 

Hits ! the hossifers as veil as the crew, 
Hits ! the married ones as veil as the single vuns 
Don't ! care what ve poor divils go through ! 

— Chorus: 
144 



Sketches and State Secrets 



But decidedly the most humorctus event of the evening 
occurred when our rolicking host escorted in, and introduced 
to our bewildered visions, four Afro-Americans, composing 
what he gravely termed: 

"the million-o'-airs quartette" 

I should not be doing my full duty as a truthful chron- 
icler of events were I to omit description of the personali- 
ties and the names of this renowned club, as well as to 
give a few of the songs rendered by it, in the most ridicu- 
lously odd and fantastic African manner. The two most 
witty and fun-loving races on this globe are, unquestionably, 
the Irish and African. A broad-minded, scholarly and 
cultured Irish friend at my elbow prophesies that the 
"Coming Race" — not that of Lord Bulwer's facile pen, 
nor the ambidextrous "Coming Race" of Charles Reade — 
in the United States, will be a result of the mixture of 
these two peoples ! 

The tall and thin leader of this band of singers bore the 
euphonious name of Hyacinthine Dewsnipe — a falsetto — 
called "Wou-Wou," on account of his sad and dyspeptic 
countenance; he was troubled somewhat with a bad 
tremolo. 

The tenor was Epaphroditus Bilgewater, called "Pap," 
pink-eyed, red-headed, short and fat, and full of beer and 
onions, and a robusto voice. The long-necked, light-colored 
baritone "Millionaire" Jubal Heliogabalus was called 
"Bellowing Gab," a head waiter in a station eating-house, 
and with an immense mouth. The basso was Ahasuerus 
Falstaflf, called "Weeper," a large, greasy, be-jewel, ebony- 
black fellow, with the pompous air of a peacock, and a 
lacrymose voice, the head barber of the United States Sen- 
ate barber shop. 

Their musical instruments consisted of an accordion, a 
violin, a banjo, and a guitar, as accompaniments. 

II 145 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



I recall but five of the songs rendered. After much 
hemming and hawing by the quartette and numerous gibes 
uttered by the guests, the "Millionaires" started with the 
following ditty, sung in a mournful monotone, as "a 
roundelay" — all the voices blending quite harmoniously — 
repeating the whole several times. 

"Man's life's a vapor, full of woes ; 
When he cuts a caper, down he goes; 
Down he — down he — down he — down he — 
Down he goes!" (Slowly.) 

Then followed another song in a weird negro melody — 

"Oh, my wife died — (pause) — Oh, then! Oh, then! 
Oh, my wife died! — (pause) — Oh, then! Oh, then! 
Oh my wife died — (pause) — I'll be hanged if I cried! 
I war glad I war single again;" 

"I married another — (pause) — Oh, then! Oh, then! 
I married another — (pause) — Oh, then! Oh, then! 
I married another — (pause) — She is worse than the udder! 
I wish I war single again ! 

The last song was repeated over and over, and the poor 
fellows were plied with various kinds of liquids until they 
also fully "caught on" and sang with great impressiveness 
the following little love song, which resulted almost in a 
riot of enthusiasm : 

Come, dearest, the daylight has gone; 

The stars are unveiling to thee; 
Let us wander together alone, 

If alone thou can'st call it with me. 

Let us go where the wild flowers bloom, 

Mid'st the soft dews of the night; 
Where the orange dispels its perfume, 

And the rose speaks of love and delight. 

Remember, love, soon I must leave thee, 

To wander 'mid strangers alone, 
Where at eve thy sweet smile will not greet me, 

Nor thy gentle voice at morn. 

146 




U. S. SENATOR JAMES R. DOOLITTLE, WISCONSIN 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



But Oh, 'twill be sweet to remember, 

When I am far from thee. 
That the hand of Fate only can sever 

My lasting affection for thee !" 

Prof. Ahasuerus Falstaff closed the musical feature of 
the occasion by singing in the most doleful basso, the fol- 
lowing idyl, with piano accompaniment : 

"Life's a farce ; the world a stage !" 
So sang a jolly ancient sage. 
What curious thoughts our minds engage ! 
What petty things give umbrage ! 
What a puzzle to see through the struggle, 
For wealth and fame — in each, the same ! 

To end in what? 
Only a lot or spot, 
Under ground, 
Beneath all sound ; 
Above, a mound, 
On which abound — 
Weeds and grass, 
Alas! Alas! 

Also the oldtime minstrel song entitled : 

"Strangers Yet" 

Strangers yet I After years of life together : 

After fair and stormy weather ; 

After travel in far lands : 

After touch of wedded hands : 

Why thus join'd, why ever met? 

If they must be strangers yet, strangers yet, strangers yet? 

After childhood's winning ways; 

After care and blame and praise; 

Counsel asked and counsel given ; 

After mutual pray'rs to Heav'n ; 

Child and parent scarce regret. 

When they part as strangers yet, strangers yet, strangers yet. 

Will it evermore be thus, Spirits still impervious? 

Shall we never fairly stand. 

Soul to soul, as hand in hand? 
Are the bounds eternal set, to retain us strangers yet, strangers yet? 

148 



Sketches and State Secrets 



This was followed by all four "millionaires" dancing the 
"Pigeon Wing Glide," which was irresistibly and inde- 
scribably funny, consisting mostly of turning in and out 
their feet in common unison, genuflections of the knees, 
their thumbs inserted into their ears and fingers spread 
wide apart, and their whole hands flopping up and down 
in front of their ears like wings, clapping of hands and 
kicking up of feet, all keeping time together and to the 
music of an accompanying piano. 

The following little tribute was then recited by its mod- 
est author, one of the guests, who handed it to this relator, 
only on condition that his name remain unknown : 

[to my seraphita] 

Friend Always 

There's a word that is dear to my heart, 

When linked with the name of friend. 
It tells of the unchanging part 

That lives to the uttermost end. 
As the magnet is true to the pole, 

As the heart turns to earlier days. 
So yearns my enraptured soul 

For my beautiful — "friend always." 

See the imperial Bird of Jove, 

In his lofty flights to realms above, 

In quest of his fugitive prey! 

He rides the storm 

In fury-land born, 

And wings on his wondrous way; 

But ever he turns his eager eye 

To his eyrie dear in the cliff on high, 

Where his fearless heart finds rest 

And peace and joy in another breast: 

So would I ever and fondly gaze, 

On my beautiful — "friend always." 

As sinks to rest the fiery King of Day, 
Gilding the azure vault with gorgeous ray; 
Or when he smiles in matin mirth, 
And strews with pearls the drowsy earth, 

149 



C I V I L - w A R Echoes — Character 



Aloft in all their glories bright, 
The starry watchers of the night, 
In chorus chant celestial lays 
Of the Creator's own sympathies. 
Ever and on their heavenly ways, 
Through age and age of endless days: 
So let me raise my humble praise 
To my beautiful — "friend always." 

Always tender, always true. 
Always joyous, always new, 
Always sunshine, pure and holy, 
Always fleeing melancholy : 
Let me linger near thy ways, 
To me, be a — "friend always." 

Then came these beautiful Hues from Dante, recited by 
an author of distinguished reputation, with exquisite deli- 
cacy of feeling: 

The Perfect Woman 

"Within her eyes my lady beareth love. 
Therefore all things grow kind beneath her gaze. 
Where she doth pass, all turn in sweet amaze. 
And whom she greeteth as a frightened dove, 
His heart doth tremble; and unworthiness 
His downcast face and flaming cheek confess. 
Before her purity, flee Pride and Ire : 
Sweet dames ! To honor her with me conspire. 
All gentleness, each pure and gracious thought. 
Into his heart are born who hears her speech. 
And blest the place that sight of her doth know; 
And all the charm wherewith her smile is fraught 
May not be told, or e'en remembered; each 
New smile a miracle so rare doth show !" 



The whole company then sang Longfellow's "Psalm of 
Life," to the tune of "Annie Laurie," with charming effect. 

The following inspired tribute to the Star Spangled Ban- 
ner, by an unknown author, said to have been a little girl 
thirteen years of age, was then rendered by this relator : 

ISO 




PLAO or THK PIaANBT OEMS ! 

Whose sappblre-clrcled dlnaema 
Stud every sea and sh'ire and sky; 
Oh \ can Tliy children gaze 
L'|)on Tliy poldcn Muze, 
Nor kindle at Thy ray« 
Wliich led the brave of old to die? 
Thou banner, beautl/nl and grand, 
Klout Thou i'oi-ever o'er our land! 

Flag of the bikd op Jovb! 

Who left Ills home the cloads above 

To point the hero's Hghtnfng path! 

Around Tliee will we stand, 

With glittering sword In hand, 

And swear to frunrd the land 

Whieh quelled the British Lion's wrath! 

Klas of the free and brave in Wo.-j.f, 

For aye be Ttiou the blest of God! 

Fl.AfJ OF THE STRIPES OP FIRE ! 

r.on? as the bard his lofry lyre 
f'un strike, Thou shalt Inspire our song! 
We'll sing Thee round" the hearth; 
We'll sin;? Thee on strange earth; 
We'll sins Tliee when we forth 
To battle go, with clarion tongue! 
I'la^ of the West! Be Tliou tjnfnrted 
"Till the last trump arouse the world ' 

Flaij of two ocean khouk? ! 

Whose everlasting thunder roars 

From deep to deep. In storm and foam '. 

Though with the sun's red set, 

Tlion siukest to slumber, yet 

\\'ith him in glory great 

Thou rlsest, aud shalt share bis tomb! 

'Iliou banner, beautiful and grand. 

Float Tlioa forever o'er •>ur lund! 



liii 



CHAPTER FOUR 

GREATEST CRIMINAL TRIAL IN HISTORY IMPEACHMENT OF 

PRESIDENT ANDREW JOHNSON — THE AUTHOR A DAILY 
ATTENDANT. 

Preliminary Proceedings in the Senate 

IN THE IMPEACHMENT OF ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED 

STATES, FOR HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS. — FORTIETH 

CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION. — HON. BENJAMIN F. 

WADE, PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE. 

Tuesday, February 25, 1868. 

Mr. Representative Stevens and Mr. Representative Bingham 
apeared at the bar of the Senate, and were announced as the com- 
mittee from the House of Representatives. 

Mr. Stevens. Mr. President, in obedience to the order of the 
House of Representatives, we appear before you, and in the name of 
the House of Representatives and of all the people of the United 
States we do impeach Andrew Johnson, President of the United 
States, of high crimes and misdemeanors in office ; and we further 
inform the Senate that the House of Representatives will in due 
time exhibit particular articles of impeachment against him and 
make good the same; and in their name we demand that the Senate 
take order for the appearance of the said Andrew Johnson to answer 
said impeachment. 

The President pro tempore. The Senate will take order in the 
premises. 

The committee of the House thereupon withdrew. 

Mr. Howard, by unanimous consent, submitted the following reso- 
lution, which was read, considered, amended, and agreed to : 

Resolved, That the message of the House of Representatives relat- 
ing to the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President of the United 
States, be referred to a select committee of seven, to be appointed 
by the Chair, to consider and report thereon. 

The President pro tempore subsequently announced the committee, 
to consist of the following senators : Mr. Howard, Mr. Trumbull, 
Mr. Conkling, Mr. Edmunds, Mr. Morton, Mr. Pomeroy, and Mr. 
Johnson. 

152 



Sketches and State Secrets 



Wednesday, February 26, 1868. 

Mr. Howard, from the select committee appointed to consider and 
report upon the message of the House of Representatives in rela- 
tion to the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President of the United 
states, reported the following resolution : 

Whereas the House of Representatives, on the 25th day of the 
present month, by two of their members, Messrs. Thaddeus Stevens 
and John A. Bingham, at the bar of the Senate, impeached Andrew 
Johnson, President of the United States, of high crimes and misde- 
meanors in office, and informed the Senate that the House of Rep- 
resentatives will in due time exhibit particular articles of impeach- 
ment against him and make good the same ; and likewise demanded 
that the Senate take order for the appearance of said Andrew John- 
son to answer to the said impeachment : Therefore, 

Resolved, That the Senate will take proper order thereon, of 

I A ^u^ "otice shall be given to the House of Representatives. 

And the committee further recommended to the Senate that the 
Secretary of the Senate be directed to notify the House of Repre- 
sentatives of the foregoing resolution. 

The resolution was considered by unanimous consent, and 
agreed to. 

Mr. Howard. I ask that an order be made directing the Secretary 
to transmit the resolution just adopted, which is in the usual form 
to the House of Representatives. 

The President pro temp art. That will be done, as a matter of 
course, without any formal order. 



Friday, February 28, 1868. 
The Senate postponed all other business, and proceeded to con- 
sider the report of the select committee respecting impeachment, 
presented by Mr. Howard. It embraced the rules of proceedure and 
practice in the Senate when sitting for the trial of an impeachment; 
which, after discussion and amendment, were adopted on March 2, 
1868. 



Wednesday, March 4, 1868. 

The managers of the impeachment on the part of the House of 
Representatives appeared at the bar, and their presence was an- 
nounced by the Sergeant-at-arms. 

The President pro tempore. The managers of the impeachment 
will advance within the bar and take the seats provided for them. 

The managers on the part of the House of Representatives came 
within the bar and took the seats assigned to them in the area in 
front of the Chair. 

IS3 



C I V I L - w A R Echoes — Character 



Mr. Manager Bingham. Mr. President, the managers of the 
House of Representatives, by order of the House, are ready at the 
bar of the Senate, whenever it may please the Senate to hear them, 
to present articles of impeachment and in maintenance of the im- 
peachment preferred against Andrew Johnson, President of the 
United States, by the House of Representatives. 

The President pro tempore. The Sergeant-at-arms will make proc- 
lamation. 

The Sergeant-at-arms. Hear ye! hear ye! hear ye! All persons 
are commanded to keep silence, on pain of imprisonment, while the 
House of Representatives is exhibiting to the Senate of the United 
States articles of impeachment against Andrew Johnson, President 
of the United States. 

The managers then rose and remained standing, with the exception 
of Mr. Stevens, who was physically unable to do so, while Mr. 
Manager Bingham read the articles of impeachment. 



The Trial of Andrew Johnson 

president of the united states, for high crimes and misdemean- 
ors. — the united states vs. ANDREW JOHNSON, PRESIDENT. 

The Capitol, Thursday, March 5, 1868. 

At I o'clock p. m. the Chief Justice of the United States entered 
the Senate chamber, accompanied by Mr. Justice Nelson, and escorted 
by Senators Pomeroy, Wilson, and Buckalew, the committee ap- 
pointed for that purpose. 

The Chief Justice took the chair and said : Senators, I attend 
the Senate in obedience to your notice, for the purpose of joining 
with you in forming a court of impeachment for the trial of the Pres- 
ident of the United States, and I am now ready to take the oath. 

The oath was administered by Mr. Justice Nelson, the Senior 
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, to 
Chief Justice Chase in the following words : 

"I do solemnly swear that in all things appertaiinng to the trial of 
the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President of the United 
States, I will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and 
the laws ; so help me God." 

[The senators rose when the Chief Justice entered the chamber, 
and remained standing till the conclusion of the administration of the 
oath to him.] , . 

The Chief Justice. Senators, the oath will now be administered 
to the senators as they will be called by the Secretary in succession. 
(To the Secretary.) Call the roll. 

The Secretary proceeded to call the roll alphabetically, and the 
Chief Justice administered the oath to Senators Anthony, Bayard, 

154 




U. S. SENATOR THOMAS A. HENDRICKS, INDIANA 
LATER, VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



Buckalew, Cameron, Cattell, Chandler, Cole, Conkling, Conness, 
Corbett, Cragin, Davis, Dixon, Drake, Ferry, Fessenden, Fowler, 
Frelinghuysen, Grimes, Harlan, Henderson, Hendricks, Howard, 
Howe, Johnson, McCreery, Morgan, Morrill of Maine, Morrill of 
Vermont, Morton, Norton, Nye, Patterson of Tennessee, Pomeroy, 
Ramsey, Ross, Sherman, Sprague, Stewart, Sumner, Thayer, Tipton, 
Trumbull and Van Winkle. 

The Secretary then called the name of Mr. Wade, who rose from 
his seat in the Senate and advanced toward the chair. His right to 
sit as a member of the court was Questioned by Senator Hendricks 
and discussed, and a motion to adjourn was made and carried. A 
report of the debate will be found in the third volume. 

The Chief Justice thereupon declared the court adjourned until 
I o'clock to-morrow, and vacated the chair. 



Friday, March 6, 1868. 

At I o'clock the Chief Justice of the United States entered the 
Senate chamber, escorted by Mr. Pomeroy, the chairman of the 
committee appointed for that purpose, and took the chair. 

The Chief Justice. The Senate will come to order. The pro- 
ceedings of yesterday will be read. 

The Secretary read the "proceedings of the Senate sitting on the 
trial of the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President of the 
United States, on Thursday, March S, 1868," from the entries on the 
journal kept for that purpose by the Secretary. 

The Chief Justice. At its adjournment last evening, the Senate, 
sitting for the trial of impeachment, had under consideration the 
motion of the senator from Maryland, [Mr. Johnson,] that objection 
having been made to the senator from Ohio [Mr. Wade] taking the 
oath, his name should be passed until the remaining members have 
been sworn. That is the business now before the body. 

After discussion. Senator Hendricks withdrew his objection, and 
the Chief Justice announced that the motion made by the honorable 
senator from Maryland fell with it. 

The Secretary called the name of Mr. Wade, who advanced arid 
took the oath. 

The Secretary then continued the call of the roll, and the Chief 
Justice administered the oath to Senators Willey, Williams, Wilson, 
and Yates, as their names were respectively called. 

The Secretary then called the names of Senators Doolittle, Ed- 
munds, Patterson of New Hampshire, and Saulsbury, who were not 
present yesterday; and Mr. Saulsbury appeared, and the oath was 
administered to him by the Chief Justice. 

The Chief Justice. All the senators present having taken the 
oath required by the Constitution, the Senate is now organized for 

156 



Sketches and State Secrets 



the purpose of proceeding to the trial of the impeachment of Andrew 
Johnson, President of the United States. The Sergeant-at-arms will 
make proclamation. 

The Sergeant-at-arms. Hear ye ! Hear ye ! Hear ye ! All per- 
sons are commanded to keep silence on pain of punishment while the 
Senate of the United States is sitting for the trial of the articles of 
impeachment against Andrew Johnson, President of the United 
States. 

Mr. Howard. I move that the Secretary of the Senate notify the 
managers on the part of the House of Representatives that the 
Senate is now organized for the purpose of proceeding to the trial 
of the impeachment of Andrew Johnson. 

The Chief Justice. Before putting that question the Chair feels it 
his duty to submit a question to the Senate relative to the rules of 
proceeding. In the judgment of the Chief Justice the Senate is now 
organized as a distinct body from the Senate sitting in its legislative 
capacity. It performs a distinct function; the members are under 
a different oath ; and the presiding officer is not the President pro 
tempore of the Senate, but the Chief Justice of the United States. 
Under these circumstances, the Chair conceives that rules adopted 
by the Senate in its legislative capacity are not rules for the govern- 
ment of the Senate sitting for the trial of an impeachment, unless 
they be also adopted by that body. In this judgment of the Chair, 
if it be an erroneous one. he desires to be corrected by the judg- 
ment of the court, or of the Senate sitting for the trial of the im- 
peachment of the President, which, in his judgment, are synonymous 
terms, and therefore, if he may be permitted to do so, he will take 
the sense of the Senate upon this question, whether the rules 
adopted on the 2d of March, a copy of which is now laying before 
him, shall be considered the rules of proceeding in this body. 
("Question.") Senators, you who think that the rules of proceeding 
adopted on the 2d of March should be considered as the rules of 
proceeding of this body will say "ay;" contrary opinion, "no:" 
[The senators having answered.] The ayes have it by the sound. 
The rules will be considered as the rules of proceeding in this body. 

Mr. Howard submitted the following resolution and orders, which 
were read, considered, and adopted : 

Resolved, That at one o'clock to-morrow afternoon the Senate will 
proceed to consider the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President 
of the United States, at which time the oath or affirmation required 
by the rules of the Senate sitting for the trial of an impeachment 
shall be administered by the Chief Justice of the United States as 
the presiding officer of the Senate sitting as aforesaid, to each mem- 
ber of the Senate, and that the Senate sitting as aforesaid will at the 
time aforesaid receive the managers appointed by the House of Rep- 
resentatives. 

Ordered, That the Secretary lay this resolution before the House 
of Representatives. 

157 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



Ordered, That the articles of impeachment exhibited against An- 
drew Johnson, President of the United States, be printed. 

Ordered, That a copy of the "rules of procedure and practice in the 
Senate when sitting on the trial of impeachment" be communicated 
by the Secretary to the House of Representatives, and a copy thereof 
delivered by him to each member of the House. 

Mr. PoMEROY submitted the following order, which was read and 
considered : 

Ordered, That the notice to the Chief Justice of the United States 
to meet the Senate in the trial of the case of impeachment, and 
requesting his attendance as presiding officer, be delivered to him 
by a committee of three senators to be appointed by the Chair, who 
shall wait upon the Chief Justice to the Senate chamber and conduct 
him to the chair. 

The order was agreed to ; and the President pro tempore appointed 
Messrs. Pomeroy, Wilson, and Buckalew the committee. 



Tuesday, March lo. 

The Senate considered the order offered by the senator from 
Rhode Island, [Mr. Anthony,] in relation to admissions to the Sen- 
ate gallery during the trial of the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, 
as it was reported by Mr. Howard, chairman of the select committee 
to which it had been referred. After discussion and amendment, 
the order was adopted, as follows : 

Ordered, That during the trial of the impeachment now pending 
no persons besides who have the privilege of the floor and clerks of 
the standing committees of the Senate shall be admitted to that 
portion of the Capitol set apart for the use of the Senate and its 
officers, except upon tickets issued by the sergeant-at-arms. The 
number of tickets shall not exceed one thousand. Tickets shall be 
numbered and dated, and be good only for the day on which they 
are dated. 

Second. The portion of the gallery set apart for the diplomatic 
corps shall be exclusively appropriated to it, and forty tickets of 
admission thereto shall be issued to the Baron Gerolt for the foreign 
legations. 

Third. Four tickets shall be issued to each senator; four tickets 
each to the Chief Justice of the United States and the Speaker of the 
Plouse of Representatives ; two tickets to each member of the House 
of Representatives; two tickets each to the associate justices of the 
Supreme Court of the United States ; two tickets each to the chief 
justice and associate justices of the supreme court of the District of 
Columbia; two tickets to the chief justice and each judge of the 
Court of Claims ; two tickets to each Cabinet officer ; two tickets 
to the General commanding the army; twenty tickets to the private 
secretary of the President of the United States for the use of the 

158 



Sketches and State Secrets 



President, and sixty tickets shall be issued by the President pro 
tempore of the Senate to the reporters of the press. The residue 
of the tickets to be issued shall be distributed among the members 
of the Senate in proportion to the representation of their respective 
states in the House of Representatives, and the seats now occupied 
by the senators shall be reserved for them. 

Such is the official record of the beginning of the great- 
est criminal trial in profane history, before the most august 
tribunal on earth — the accused being at that date the high- 
est civic officer of state in the world — the chief magistrate 
of forty millions of people — Andrew Johnson, President 
OF THE United States by virtue of the death of his prede- 
cessor — a trial prosecuted by the House of Representa- 
tives, through its chosen managers, seven in number and 
the leading members of that body, before the United States 
Senate, representing at that time — March, 1868 — twenty- 
seven sovereign states, and presided over by the Chief Jus- 
tice of the United States, sitting as a trial court ! 

The charges were contained in eleven articles, the first 
nine of which concerned violations of the so-called "Tenure 
of Office Act" — a law especially provided to enable Secre- 
tary of War, Stanton, to retain his portfolio in spite of the 
repeated attempts of President Johnson to remove him 
therefrom, the President claiming the law to be unconstitu- 
tional, without waiting for the Supreme Court of the 
United States to so pronounce it in legal and constitutional 
manner. The tenth article related to ribald speeches uttered 
by the President in several large cities with intent to bring 
into disgrace, ridicule, hatred, contempt, and reproach the 
Congress of the United States, and to destroy the respect 
of the people for them. The eleventh referred to unlawful 
attempts to prevent Mr. Stanton from resuming the func- 
tions of his office, the execution of the clause in the appro- 
priation act of 1867 requiring that all orders should pass 
through the official channel of the General of the Army; 
and also the reconstruction acts of March 2, 1867. 

159 



Civii^-WAR Echoes — Character 



I was a daily witness, from the floor of the Senate, of 
this momentous proceeding that lasted in the neighborhood 
of two months in duration. It is the purpose of this chap- 
ter to present the reader with a few hitherto unpublished 
facts in the nature of state secrets, some dramatic incidents, 
and specimens of forensic oratory that probably have never 
been surpassed in either hall of Congress or elsewhere, in 
connection with this trial. My confidential relations as 
private secretary to my father who, as above shown from 
the official record, was chairman of the "Select Committee 
of Seven" in the Senate on the impeachment trial, enabled 
me to come into possession of several important secrets, 
given me by him. 

Directly preceding the trial he was informed by a lead- 
ing member of the House that Chief Justice Salmon P. 
Chase had said he should positively refuse to preside over 
the Senate as a court of impeachment to try President 
Johnson. That member had, therefore, at once prepared 
articles of impeachment against Chief Justice Chase and 
was ready to present them before the House if he still 
persisted in such refusal ; whereupon a special committee 
was appointed by President pro tempore, Wade, as will be 
seen from the above record, to notify Chief Justice Chase 
that the Senate was organized as a court of impeachment 
and was ready to receive him as its presiding officer accord- 
ing to the provisions of the Constitution. My father quietly 
informed Senator Pomeroy, the chairman, of the foregoing 
facts and suggested that he so inform Chief Justice Chase 
privately. This course was purused, and Chase came into 
the Senate chamber with a decided frown upon his face 
and exhibited considerable petulance in his manner. His 
disinclination to act in accordance with the requirements 
of the Constitution, doubtless arose primarily from the fact 
that if the President should be convicted and so removed 
from office, the place would be filled temporarily at least, 




U. S. SENATOR CHARLES R. BUCKALEW, PENNSYLVAI 



Civil- WAR Echoes — Character 



by that intense "radical," Benjamin F. Wade, also of Ohio, 
the then President pro tempore of the Senate, by virtue of 
that office, and so Chase's presidential aspirations would 
suffer defeat. Such was the surmise of the knowing ones. 

The earliest dramatic scene in the trial I recall was 
shortly after it had begun. A motion to retire for consulta- 
tion on the question of the right of the Chief Justice to pri- 
marily decide all interlocutory questions of law and evi- 
dence had been tied by receiving the same number of sena- 
tors' votes — 25 to 25 — when Chief Justice Chase abruptly 
and haughtily, without explanation, assumed for himself 
the undelegated right to cast the deciding vote as presiding 
officer. In an instant a dozen or more leading Senators 
were on their feet, shouting and gesticulating, some going 
so far as to mount their chairs. Threats and denunciations 
filled the air. 

Chase looked flustered and scared, but quickly arising 
from his seat, and pounding the desk with his mallet, put 
the motion for adjournment or recess, declared it carried 
and leaving the chair, descended the steps of the dais and 
passed out of the chamber, amid a shower of hisses and 
harsh epithets. He purposely and plainly showed his dis- 
approbation of the impeachment proceedings, and thus at 
the start, doing all in his power, as the presiding officer, to 
discourage its continuance. When I saw this scene and 
heard such cries as "infamous," "traitorous," "outrageous," 
"damnable," coming from the months of staid, sedate, 
and dignified but terribly excited senators, I immediately, 
concluded in my callow mind that "here and now Is the 
beginning of the end of this republic." The excitement 
continued and feeling ran very high for the rest of that day. 
The impeachment of Chase was freely discussed, but by the 
next session of the court, quiet was restored. The conten- 
tion was that the Chief Justice was not a member per se, 
of the Senate sitting as a trial court, but was simply a pre- 

162 



Sketches and State Secrets 



siding officer to maintain order and put questions to the 
vote of senators who alone composed the "Court." The 
Chief Justice, however, was sustained later on, by a vote 
of thirty-one to nineteen, through the adoption of an order 
by the Senate as a court, granting him specifically the 
power. 

The President did not appear before the Senate in per- 
son, but only by counsel, they being Attorney General 
Stan$ber|'y, Benjamin R. Curtis, William M. Evarts, Wil- 
liam S. Groesbeck, and Thomas A. R. Nelson ; Groesbeck 
being substituted in place of Jeremiah S. Black — all of 
whom were leading lawyers of the nation. The first move 
on the part of the defense was for more time to plead, in 
which they were partially defeated, the time being limited 
to March 2^. Then followed the formal written answer 
of President Johnson to each article of impeachment, read 
by Mr. Evarts, with another request for more time for 
preparation, which was denied. The next day the "Repli- 
cation" was presented by Mr. Boutwell, one of the House 
managers. 

On Monday, March 30, 1868, at half-past twelve o'clock, 
the great trial virtually began, the whole House of Repre- 
sentatives coming into the Senate in a body, headed by Mr. 
E. B. Washburne, chairman of the Committee of the Whole. 

The case was opened on the part of the prosecution by 
Benjamin F. Butler, of Massachusetts, in an exhaustive 
and masterly presentation of facts and law, occupying three 
hours in its delivery. I can give only a portion of its 
closing sentences : 

"Thus we charge that Andrew Johnson, President of the United 
States, not only endeavors to thwart the constitutional action of 
Congress and bring it to naught, but also to hinder and oppose the 
execution of the will of the loyal people of the United States ex- 
pressed in the only mode by which it can be done, through the 
ballot-box, in the election of their representatives. Who does not 
know that from the hour he began these, his usurpations of power, 

163 



C I V I L - w A R Echoes — Character 



he everywhere denounced Congress, the legality and constitutionality 
of its action, and defied its legitimate powers, and, for that purpose, 
announced his intentions and carried out his purpose, as far as he 
was able, of removing every true man from office who sustained the 
Congress of the United States? And it is to carry out this plan 
of action that he claims the unlimited power of removal, for the 
illegal exercise of which he stands before you this day. Who does 
not know that, in pursuance of the same plan, he used his veto power 
indiscriminately to prevent the passage of wholesome laws, enacted 
for the pacification of the country? and, when laws were passed by 
the constitutional majority over his vetoes, he made the most deter- 
mined opposition, both open and covert, to them, and, for the pur- 
pose of making that opposition effectual, he endeavored to array and 
did array all the people lately in rebellion to set themselves against 
Congress and against the true and loyal men, their neighbors, so 
that murders, assassinations, and massacres were rife all over the 
Southern States, which he encouraged by his refusal to consent that 
a single murderer be punished, though thousands of good men have 
been slain ; and further, that he attempted by military orders to pre- 
vent the execution of acts of Congress by the military commanders 
who were charged therewith. These and his concurrent acts show 
conclusively that his attempt to get the control of the military force 
of the government, by the seizing of the Department of War, was 
done in pursuance of his general design, if it were possible, to over- 
throw the Congress of the United States ; and he now claims by his 
answer the right to control his own will, for the execution of this 
very design, every officer of the army, navy, civil and diplomatic 
service of the United States. He asks you here, Senators, by your 
solemn adjudication to confirm him in that right, to invest him with 
that power, to be used with the intents and for the purposes which 
he has already shown. 

"The responsibility is with you ; the safeguards of the Constitution 
against usurpation are in your hands ; the interests and hopes of free 
institutions wait upon your verdict. The House of Representatives 
has done its duty. We have presented the facts in the constitutional 
manner; we have brought the criminal to your bar, and demand 
judgment at your hands for his so great crimes. 

"Never again, if Andrew Johnson go quit and free this day, can 
the people of this or any other country by constitutional check or 
guards stay the usurpations of executive power." 

It seems almost stiperfluous to present any delineation of 
this masterful man and great lawyer, but perhaps a brief 
one, at least, is due. He was not an orator, though he came 
very near being one, according to the definition of Cicero. 
His voice was harsh and rasping, one eye was turned in- 

164 



Sketches and State Secrets 



wardly — (as Senator Nye said, one day — "My boy, when 
you see a fellow with one eye trying to gnaw through the 
bridge of his nose to get at the other eye, look out for 
him!") — his figure was rather podgy and ungainly; his 
neck, short and large ; his head, enormous and very bald — 
it was oblong and wide; his face colorless and resembling 
in contour somewhat that of an eagle. He was the personi- 
fication of the alert, tireless, adroit, pugnaceous, cool, intel- 
lectual New Englander of Miles Standish proclivities and 
terribly earnest convictions, with mind self-confident and 
well poised. He was unquestionably the aggressive leader 
of the House forces, sharing with John A. Bingham the 
greater portion of the hard work of examination of wit- 
nesses and resultant argument on questions of law. 

In the examination of witnesses for the prosecution, many 
and interminable legal questions arose for discussion, car- 
ried on by Messrs. Butler and Bingham of the one side, and 
Attorney General Stansberfy and Mr. Evarts, on the other, 
the witnesses being many of the most prominent men in the 
nation ; among the first was Gen. W. H. Emory, U. S. A., 
whose testimony was of a very important character, and 
condemnatory of Johnson. It related to several interviews 
with Johnson as to efforts to remove Stanton from office, 
and lead to a long discussion in regard to rules of admissi- 
bility of evidence. He was followed by several more wit- 
nesses whose testimony gave rise to many arguments which 
would not interest the general reader. The question as to the 
admissibility of telegraphic dispatches was decided in the 
affirmative by a vote of 27 to 17 ; not voting, 10. Then fol- 
lowed the reading of President Johnson's celebrated and 
scandalous speeches in Cleveland and other cities, in which 
he grossly abused Congress ; then, the testimony of the old 
chief clerk of the State Department, giving a long list of 
appointments and removals during the sessions of the Senate, 
and by other witnesses on the same subject; then journal- 

165 



Civil- WAR Echoes — Character 



ists and reporters as to the accuracy of the copies of John- 
son's outrageous speeches. The House here rested its case. 

The opening on the part of the accused was made by 
Benjamin R.Curtis, of Massachusetts, a wonderfully clear 
headed, dispassionate, logical reasoner, full of learned lore. 
He moved along in graceful, dignified diction ; a better 
logician than Butler. His argument lasted three and one- 
half hours and closed with the following learned and preg- 
nant sentences, which should be read by every statesman, 
editor, and scholar in the land : 

"I submit, then, senators, that this view of the honorable mana- 
gers of the duties and powers of this body can not be maintained. 
But the attempt made by the honorable managers to obtain a convic- 
tion upon this tenth article is attended with some peculiarities which 
I think it is the duty of the counsel to the President to advert to. 
So far as regards the preceding articles, the first eight articles are 
framed upon allegations that the President broke a law. I suppose 
the honorable managers do not intend to carry their doctrine so far 
as to say that unless you find the President did intentionally break 
a law those articles are supported. As to those articles there is some 
law unquestionably, the very gist of the charge being that he broke 
a law. You must find that the law existed ; you must construe it and 
apply it to the case; you must find his criminal intent wilfully to 
break the law, before the articles can be supported. But we come 
now to this tenth article, which depends upon no law at all, but, as 
I have said, is attended with some extraordinary peculiarities. 

The complaint is that the President made speeches against Con- 
gress. The true statement here would be much more restricted than 
that ; for although in those speeches the President used the word 
"Congress," undoubtedly he did not mean the entire constitutional 
body organized under the Constitution of the United States ; he 
meant the dominant majority in Congress. Everybody so understood 
it, everybody must so understand it. But the complaint is that he 
made speeches against those who governed in Congress. Well, who 
are the grand jury in this case? One of the parties spoken against. 
And who are the triers? The other party spoken against. One 
would think there was some incongruity in this ; some reason for 
giving pause before taking any very great stride in that direction. 
The honorable House of Representatives sends its managers here to 
take notice of what? That the House of Representatives has 
erected itself into a school of manners, selecting from its ranks those 
gentlemen whom it deems most competent by precept and example 
to teach decorum of speech; and they desire the judgment of this 

i66 




BENJAMIN F. BUTLER, M. C, MASSACHUSETTS 
FORMERLY MAJOR GENERAL U. S. VOLS.; GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



body whether the President has not been guilty of indecorum, 
whether he has spoken properly, to use the phrase of the honorable 
manager. Now, there used to be an old-fashioned notion that 
although there might be a difference of taste about oral speeches, 
and, no doubt, always has been and always will be many such differ- 
ences, there was one very important test in reference to them, and 
that is whether they are true or false ; but it seems that in this 
case that is no test at all. The honorable manager, in opening the 
case, finding, I suppose, that it was necessary, in some manner, to 
advert to that subject, has done it in terms which I will read to you: 

"The words are not alleged to be either false or defamatory, be- 
cause it is not within the power of any man, however high his official 
position, in effect to slander the Congress of the United States, in 
the ordinary sense of that word, so as to call on Congress to answer 
as to the truth of the accusation." 

Considering the nature of our government, considering the expe- 
rience which we have gone through on this subject, that is a pretty 
lofty claim. Why, if the Senate please, if you go back to the time of 
the Plantagenets and seek for precedents there, you will not find so 
lofty a claim as that. 1 beg leave to read from two statutes, the first 
being 3 Edward I, ch. 34, and the second 2 Richard II, ch. i, a short 
passage. The statute 3 Edward I, ch. 34, after the preamble, enacts : 

"That from henceforth none be so hardy to tell or publish any false 
news or tales, whereby discord or occasion of discord or slander 
may grow between the King and his people, or the great men of the 
realm ; and he that doeth so shall be taken and kept in until he hath 
brought him into court which was the first author of the tale." 

The statute 2 Richard II, ch. i, sec. 5, enacted with some altera- 
tions the previous statute. It commenced thus : 

"Of devisors of false news and of horrible and false lies of pre- 
lates, dukes, earls, barons, and other nobles and great men of the 
realm; and also of the chancellor, treasurer, clerk of the privy seal, 
steward of the King's house, justices of the one bench or of the 
other, and of other great officers of the realm." 

The great men of the realm in the time of Richard II were pro- 
tected only against "horrible and false lies," and when we arrive 
in the course of our national experience during the war with 
France and the administration of Mr. Adams to that attempt to 
check, not free speech, but free writing, senators will find that 
although it applied only to written libels it contained an express 
section that the truth might be given in evidence. That was a law, 
as senators know, making it penal by written- libels to excite the 
hatred or contempt of the people against Congress among other 
offenses; but the estimate of the elevation of Congress above the 



Sketches and State Secrets 



people was not so high but that it was thought proper to allow a 
defense of the truth to be given in evidence. I beg leave to read 
from this sedition act a part of one section, and make a reference 
to another to support the correctness of what I have said. It is 
found in Statutes at Large, page 596: 

"That if any person shall write, print, utter, or oubilsh, or shall 
cause or procure to be written, printed, uttered, or published, or 
shall knowingly and willingly assist or aid in writing, printing, 
uttering, or publishing any false, scandalous, and malicious writing 
or writings against the Government of the United States, or either 
house of the Congress of the United States, or the President of the 
United States, with intent to defame the said Government, or 
either house of the said Congress, or the said President, or to bring 
them, or either or any of them the hatred of the good people of 
the United States, or to stir up sedition within the United States, 
or to excite any unlawful combinations therein, &c." 

Section three provides — 

"That if any person shall be prosecuted under this act for the 
writing or publishing any libel aforesaid, it shall be lawful for the 
defendant, upon the trial of the cause, to give in evidence in his 
defense the truth of the matter contained in the publication charged 
as a libel. And the jury who shall try the cause shall have a right 
to determine the law and the fact, under the direction of the court, 
as in other cases." 

In contrast with the views expressed here, I desire now to read 
from the fourth volume of Mr. Madison's works, pages 542 and 547, 
passages which, in my judgment, are as masterly as anything Mr. 
Madison ever wrote, upon the relations of the Congress of the 
United States to the people of the United States in contrast with 
the relations of the government of Great Britain to the people of 
that island ; and the necessity which the nature of our government 
lays us under to preserve freedom of the press and freedom of 
speech : 

"The essential difference between the British government and 
the American Constitution will place this subject in the clearest 
light. 

"In the British government the danger of encroachments on the 
rights of the people is understood to be confined to the executive 
magistrate. The representatives of the people in the legislature are 
only exempt themselves from distrust, but are considered as suffi- 
cient guardians of the rights of their constituents against the 
danger from the executive. Hence it is a principle that the Parlia- 

169 



Civil- WAR Echoes — Character 



ment is unlimited in its power, or, in their own language, is omnipo- 
tent. Hence, too, all the ramparts for protecting the rights of the 
people — such as their Magna Charta, their Bill of Rights, &c. — are 
not reared against the Parliament, but against the royal prerogative. 
They are merely legislative precautions against executive usurpa- 
tions. Under such a government as this, an exemption of the press 
from previous restraint, by licensers appointed by the King, is all 
the freedom that can be secured to it. 

"In the United States the case is altogether different. The peo- 
ple, not the government, possess the absolute sovereignty. The leg- 
islature, no less than the executive, is under limitations of power. 
Encroachments are regarded as possible from the one as well as 
from the other. Hence, in the United States, the great and essen- 
tial rights of the people are secured against legislative as well as 
against executive ambition. They are secured, not by laws para- 
mount to prerogative, but by constitutions paramount to laws. 
This security of the freedom of the press requires that it should be 
exempt not only from previous restraint by the executive, as in 
Great Britain, but from legislative restraint also ; and this exemp- 
tion, to be effectual, must be an exemption not only from the 
previous inspection of licenses, but from the subsequent penalty of 
laws." 

One other passage, on page 547, which has an extraordinary appli- 
cation to the subject now before you: 

"i. The Constitution supposes that the President, the Congress, 
and each of its houses may not discharge their trusts, either from 
defect of judgment or other causes. Hence they are all made 
responsible to their constituents at the returning periods of election; 
and the President, who is singly intrusted with very great powers, 
is, as a further guard, subjected to an intermediate impeachment. 

"2. Should it happen, as the Constitution supposes it may happen, 
that either of these branches of the government may not have duly 
discharged its trust, it is natural and proper that, according to the 
cause and degree of their faults, they should be brought into con- 
tempt or disrepute, and incur the hatred of the people. 

"3. Whether it has, in any case, happened that the proceedings 
of either or all of those branches evince such a violation of duty 
as to justify a contempt, a disrepute, or hatred among the people, 
can only be determined by a free examination thereof, and a free 
communication among the people thereon. 

"4. Whenever it may have actually happened that proceedings of 
this sort are chargeable on all or either of the branches of the 
government, it is the duty, as well as right, of intelligent and faithful 
citizens to discuss and promulgate them freely, as well as to control 
them by the censorship of the public opinion as to promote a 
remedy according to the rules of the Constitution. And it can 

170 




WILLIAM M. EVARTS, OF NEW YORK 
LATER, U. S. SENATOR AND SECRETARY OF STATE 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



not be avoided that those who are to apply the remedy must feel, 
in some degree, a contempt or hatred against the transgressing 
party." 

These observations of Mr. Madison were made in respect to the 
freedom of the press. There were two views entertained at the time 
when the sedition law was passed concerning the power of Con- 
gress over this subject. The one view was that when the Con- 
stitution spoke of freedom of the press it referred to the common 
law definition of that freedom. That was the view which Mr. 
Madison was controverting in one of the passages which I have 
read to you. The other view was that the common law definition 
could not be deemed applicable, and that the freedom provided for 
by the Constitution, so far as the action of Congress was con- 
cerned, was an absolute freedom of the press. But no one ever 
imagined that freedom of speech, in contradistinction from written 
libel, could be restrained by a law of Congress ; for whether you 
treat the prohibition in the Constitution as absolute in itself, or 
whether you refer to the common law for a definition of its limits 
and meaning, the result will be the same. Under the common law 
no man was ever punished criminally for spoken words. If he 
slandered his neighbor and injured him, he must make good in 
damages to his neighbor the injury he had done; but there was no 
such thing at the common law as an indictment for spoken words. 
So that this prohibition in the Constitution against any legislation 
by Congress in restraint of the freedom of speech is necessarily an 
absolute prohibition ; and therefore this is a case not only where 
there is no law made prior to the act to punish the act, but a case 
where Congress is expressly prohibited from making any law to 
operate even on subsequent acts. 



It must be unnecessary for me to say anything concerning the 
importance of this case, not only now, but in the future. It must 
be apparent to every one, in any way connected with or concerned 
in this trial, that this is and will be the most conspicuous instance 
which ever has been or can ever be expected to be found of Amer- 
ican justice or American injustice, of that justice which Mr. Burke 
says is the great standing policy of all civilized states, or of that 
injustice which is sure to be discovered and which makes even the 
wise man mad, and which, in the fixed and immutable order of 
God's providence, is certain to return to plague its inventors. 

The defense then began its testimony by placing on the 
sand old Gen. Lorenzo Thomas, Adjutant General, who 
had been appointed "Ad interim, Secretary of War," after 

172 



Sketches and State Secrets 



it had been successively declined by General Grant, Lieuten- 
ant General Sherman, and Major General George H. 
Thomas. "Old Ad Interim's" testimony elicited much acri- 
mony, and amusement as well, and prolonged discussion. 

His examination in chief was conducted by Mr. Stan^- 
ber|y and covered great length. His cross-examination was 
made by General Butler and was equally tedious, but as it 
drew toward the end it became quite dramatic. 

It was plain to be seen that the witness was tired out 
and greatly annoyed by Butler, who stood with his back 
toward the witness, leaning up against the clerk's desk 
which was elevated upon a dais and used as the witness 
stand. While standing in this position, so that all the wit- 
ness could see was the back and top of Butler's bald pate, 
that gentleman "fired" question after question at the wit- 
ness, addressing them up into the diplomatic gallery on the 
opposite side of the chamber. The affront by Butler was 
great and deserved rebuke, but poor old Thomas with face 
naturally red, steadily growing more and more suffused 
with righteous indignation, kept answering the rapid ques- 
tions with the remark — "I don't recollect, sir" — "I don't 
recollect, sir." When the proceeding began to have the 
appearance somewhat of a farce, Butler whirled around, like 
a hawk on a June bug, and thrusting forward his head, 
said in the most insulting and aggravating manner: "I 
won't trouble your recollection any further, sir !" Thomas 
left the stand, livid with rage. 

Lieutenant General ^'herman followed as to interviews 
between himself and Johnson about the former's contem- 
plated appointment in Stanton's place, eliciting long legal 
discussions between Butler and Stantberjfy as to the com- 
petency, as evidence, of the declarations of Johnson's inten- 
tions as given to Sherman. The Attorney General cited 
the celebrated case of Hardy, reported in State Trials, Vol. 
XXIV, p. 1065, referring to the cases also of Lord George 

173 



Civil- WAR Echoes — Character 



Gordon and Lord Russell, as to the right of counsel to 
state in court what he expects to prove by a witness where 
the question is one of intention, evoking a scathing argu- 
ment in reply from Butler for reading only the argument 
of counsel in those cases, and of which proceeding he said 
"a more unprofessional act I never knew.'' Butler also 
gave a masterly dissection of this celebrated Hardy case, 
which was a trial for treason — the court which tried it con- 
sisting of Lord Chief Justice Eyre, Lord Chief Baron Mc- 
Donald, Baron Hotham, Justice Buller, Sir Nash Grosse, 
Justice Lawrence, and other distinguished jurists. It sat 
from nine o'clock in the morning until one o'clock at night! 
Erskine's great speech in that trial occupied nine hours in 
its delivery. This case was discussed also by Evarts and 
Manager Wilson. 

Johnson tendered the appointment of "Secretary of War 
ad interim" to General Sherman twice. He declined. The 
chief question that arose in Sherman's examination was as 
to the admissibility in evidence of matters of opinion "other 
than those involving professional skill." He was at last 
allowed to give the President's declarations as to his inten- 
tions in ofifering witness the portfolio of war in place of 
Stanton. This was followed by the testimony of Gideon 
Welles, Secretary of the Navy, and other distinguished per- 
sons. Lastly came documentary evidence, with numerous 
and learned discussions over admissibility, and questions of 
estoppel, habeas corpus, and quo warranto. 

To me, a young student of law, these masterly discus- 
sions of its great principles were indeed a revelation and a 
school of inestimable advantage. Aside from the person- 
alities of the eminent jurists carrying on the many-sided 
and learned arguments, serving as models of forensic de- 
meanor in their own persons, added to the majesty of their 
diction, my eager mind absorbed many profound principles 
of law that have tended, somewhat, perhaps, to shape its 

174 



Sketches and State Secrets 



later development. It was my "Law school," supplemental to 
my law studies under the supervision of my father. 

I was especially struck with the ready and immediately- 
available knowledge of legal principles and constitutional 
law exhibited on a multitude of occasions by Butler and 
Evarts. Their quivers were always full to overflowing. 
Each was wary of the other, and it was indeed a combat 
between two giant intellectual gladiators in the grandest 
arena of the world. 

Butler, ever on the attack ; Evarts, ever cool, calm, and 
collected. 

Butler, a little inclined, at times, to play to the galleries ; 
Evarts confident and conscious of his own strength. — "Radi- 
cal" against "Conservative," fittingly represented in these 
two great and powerful characters — both descendants of 
old Puritan stock. "When Greek joined Greek, then was 
the tug of war!" 

But how eagerly did the crowded galleries, as well as the 
members of both houses present, look forward to the rapidly 
approaching hours when that magnificent Senate chamber 
was to resound with the closing arguments on each side of 
this greatest of all criminal trials. 

And they were not disappointed, for in those arguments 
Avas exhibited the highest order of forensic oratory. It 
contained, besides the charm of marvelous voice-culture and 
dramatic action of gesture and look, the deepest research 
into civil and constitutional law, political and military his- 
tory, inductive philosophy, the drama, religion and natural 
sciences — all sources of knowledge and culture were rav- 
ished to delight the souls of listeners and convince the judg- 
ments of senators. 

I can not resist the temptation to give my readers brief 
extracts from these superb examples of American oratory. 
It seems almost sacriligious to disembowel, as it were, a 
portion of an oration, but the necessities of the case caused 

175 



C I V I L - w A R Echoes — Character 

by a fixed limitation to these pages, must be my plea for this 
act of mayhem. 

First comes the fiery, fearless soul, John A Logan, of 
Illinois, late a major general of volunteers, U. S. A., one 
of the managers on the part of the House of Representa- 
tives. What a striking looking man he is ! Looks like a 
very superior American or Asiatic Indian, dark and swarthy, 
straight and grand in his carriage and movements, an im- 
mense, sweeping black moustache, a strong, long nose, 
square chin, piercing black eyes, full, noble brow, long 
"slick" coal-black hair. 

He has a decided military bearing with much suavity and 
dignity ; looks like a man who would rather fight than eat. 
Hear the glowing peroration of this great man, afterward 
a senator and Republican candidate for Vice-president. 

"From the 14th day of April, 1865, to this day, as shown by the 
testimon}^ he has been consistent only with himself and the evil 
spirits of his administration. False to the people who took him 
from obscurity and conferred on him splendor; who dug him from 
that oblivion to which he had been consigned by the treason of 
his state, and gave him that distinction which, as disclosed by his 
subsequent acts, he never merited, and has so fearfully scandalized, 
disgraced, and dishonored; false to the memory of him whose death 
made him President ; false to the principles of our contest for 
national life; false to the Constitution and laws of the land and his 
oath of office ; filled with all vanity, lust, and pride ; substituting, 
with the most disgusting self-complacency and ignorance, his own 
coarse, brutalized will for the will of the people, and substituting 
his vulgar, vapid, and ignorant utterances for patriotism, states- 
manship, and faithful public service, he has completed his circle of 
high crimes and misdemeanors ; and, thanks to Almighty God, by 
the imbedded wisdom of our fathers found in the Constitution of 
our country, he stands to-day, with all his crimes upon his head, 
uncovered before the world, at the bar of this the most august 
tribunal on earth, to receive the awful sentence that awaits him as 
a fitting punishment for the crimes and misdemeanors of which he 
stands impeached by the House of Representatives, in the name 
and on behalf of all the people. Here, senators, we rest our case ; 
here we leave the great criminal of the age. In your hands, as 
wisely provided by the charter of our liberties, this offender against 
the Constitution, the laws, liberty, peace, and public decency of our 

176 




JOHN A. LOGAN, M. C, OF ILLINOIS 
EX-MAJOR GENERAL U. S. VOLS. ; LATER, U. S. SENATOR AND REPUBLICAN 
CANDIDATE FOR VICE-PRESIDENT 
13 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



country, is now left to be finally and in the name of all the people, 
we humbly trust, disposed of forever, in such manner as no more to 
outrage the memories of an heroic and illustrious past, nor dim the 
hopes, expectations, and glories of the coming future. Let us, we 
implore you, no more hear his resounding footfalls in the temple 
of American constitutional liberty, nor have the vessels of the ark of the 
covenant of our fathers polluted by his unholy hands. Let not the 
blood of a half million of heroes who went to their deaths on the 
nation's battlefields for the nation's life cry from the ground against 
us on account of the crimes permitted by us, and committed by him 
whom we now leave in your hands. Standing here to-day for the 
last time with my brother managers, to take leave of this case and 
this great tribunal, I am penetrated and overwhelmed with emo- 
tion. Memory is busy with the scenes of the years which have 
intervened between March 4th, 1861, and this day. Our great war, 
its battles and ten thousand incidents, without mental bidding and 
beyond control, almost pass in panoramic view before me. As in 
the presence of those whom I have seen fall in battle as we rushed 
to victory, or die of wounds or disease in hospital far frorn home 
and the loved ones, to be seen no more until the grave gives up 
its dead, have I endeavored to discharge my humble part in this 
great trial. 

"The world in after-times will read the history of the administra- 
tion of Andrew Johnson as an illustration of the depth to which 
political and official perfidy can descend. Amid the unhealed 
ghastly scars of war; surrounded by the weeds of widowhood and 
cries of orphanage ; associating with and sustained by the soldiers 
of the republic, of whom at one time he claimed to be one; sur- 
rounded by the men who had supported, aided, and cheered Mr. 
Lincoln through the darkest hours and sorest trials of his sad yet 
immortal administration — men whose lives had been dedicated to 
the cause of justice, law, and universal liberty — the men who had 
nominated and elected him to the second office in the nation at a 
time when he scarcely dared visit his own home because of the 
traitorous instincts of his own people; yet, as shown by his official 
acts, messages, speeches, conversations, and associations, almost from 
the time when the blood of Lincoln was warni on the floor of 
Ford's theater, Andrew Johnson was contemplating treason to all 
the fresh fruits of the overthrown and crushed rebellion, and an 
affiliation with and a practical official and hearty sympathy for 
those who had cost hectacombs of slain citizens, billions of treasure, 
and an almost ruined country. His great aim and purpose has been 
to subvert law, usurp authority, insult and outrage Congress, recon- 
struct the rebel states in the interests of treason, insult the memo- 
ries and resting-places of our heroic dead ; outrage the feelings and 
deride the principles of living men who aided in saving the Union, 
and deliver all snatched from wreck and ruin into the hands of un- 
repentant, but by him pardoned, traitors. But, all honor to the 

178 



Sketches and State Secret 



servants of a brave and loyal people, he has been in strict conform- 
ity to the Constitution arrested in his career of crime, impeached, 
arraigned, tried, and here awaits your sentence. We are not doubt- 
ful of your verdict. Andrew Johnson has long since been tried by 
the whole people and found guilty, and you can but confirm that 
judgment already pronounced by the sovereign American people. 

"Henceforth our career of greatness will be unimpeded. Rising 
from our baptism of fire and blood, purified by our sufferings and 
trials under the approving smiles of Heaven, and freed, as we are, 
from the crimes of oppression and wrong, the patriot heart looks 
outward and onward for long and ever increasing national prosperity, 
virtue, and happiness." 

He was followed by George S. Boutwell of Massachu- 
setts, manager, afterward a senator and Secretary of the 
Treasury. He is also a man of somewhat similar complex- 
ion as General Logan and like build, but he is more scholarly 
and exhibits the New England culture, holding himself in 
close constraint. 

Hear this able lawyer as he closes a most eloquent and 
scholarly argument with these words : 

"Caius Verres is the great political criminal of history. For two 
years he was praetor and the scourge of Sicily. The area of that 
country does not much exceed ten thousand square miles, and in 
modern times it has had a population of about two million souls. The 
respondent at your bar has been the scourge of a country many times 
the area of Sicily, and containing a population six times as great. Ver- 
res enriched himself and his friends ; he seized the public paintings and 
statues and carried them to Rome. But at the end of his brief rule 
of two years he left Sicily as he had found it ; in comparative peace, 
and in the possession of its industries and its laws. This respondent 
has not ravaged states nor enriched himself by the plunder of their 
treasures ; but he has inaugurated and adhered to a policy which has 
deprived the people of the blessings of peace, of the protection of 
law, of just rewards of honest industry. A vast and important por- 
tion of the republic, a portion whose prosperity is essential to the 
country at large, is prostrate and helpless under the evils which his 
administration has brought upon it. When Verres was arraigned 
before his judges at Rome, and the exposure of his crimes began, 
his counsel abandoned his cause and the criminal fled from the city. 
Yet Verres had friends in Sicily, and they erected a guilded statue 
to his name in the streets of Syracuse. This respondent will look 
in vain, even in the south, for any testimonials to his virtues or to his 

179 



C I V I L - W A R ECHOES CHARACTER 



public conduct. All classes are oppressed by the private and public 
calamities which he has brought upon them. They appeal to you for 
relief. The nation waits in anxiety for the conclusion of these pro- 
ceedings. Forty millions of people, whose interest in public affairs 
is in the wise and just administration of the laws, look to this 
tribunal as a sure defense against the encroachments of a criminally 
minded chief magistrate. 

"Will any one say that the heaviest judgment which you can render 
is any adequate punishment for these crimes? Your office is not 
punishment, but to secure the safety of the republic. But human 
tribunals are inadequate to punish those criminals, who, as rulers or 
magistrates, by their example, conduct, policy, and crimes become 
the scourge of communities and nations. No picture, no power of 
the imagination, can illustrate or conceive the suffering of the poor 
but loyal people of the south. A patriotic, virtuous, law-abiding 
chief magistrate would have healed the wounds of war, soothed 
private and public sorrows, protected the weak, encouraged the 
strong, and lifted from the southern people the burdens which now 
are greater than they can bear. 

"Travelers and astronomers inform us that in the southern heavens, 
near the southern cross, there is a vast space which the uneducated 
call the hole in the sky, where the eye of man, with the aid of the 
powers of the telescope, has been unable to discover nebulas, or 
asteroid, or comet, or planet, or star, or sun. In that dreary, cold, 
dark region of space, which is only known to be less than infinite 
by the evidences of creation elsewhere, the Great Author of celestial 
mechanism has left the chaos which was in the beginning. If this 
earth were capable of the sentiments and emotions of justice and 
virtue, which in human mortal beings are the evidences and the 
pledge of our Divine origin and immortal destiny, it would heave 
and throw, with the energy of the elemental forces of nature, and 
project this enemy of two races of men into that vast region, there 
forever to exist in a solitude eternal as life, or as the absence of 
life, emblematical of, if not really, that "outer darkness" of which 
the Saviour of man spoke in warning to those who are the enemies 
of themselves, of their race, and of their God. But it is yours to 
relieve, not to punish. This done and our country is again ad- 
vanced in the intelligent opinion of mankind. In other governments 
an unfaithful ruler can be removed only by revolution, violence, or 
force. The proceeding here is judicial, and according to the forms 
of law. Your judgment will be enforced without the aid of a po- 
liceman or a soldier. What other evidence will be needed of the 
value of republican institutions? What other test of the strength 
and vigor of our government? What other assurance that the virtue 
of the people is equal to any emergency of national life? 

"The contest which the House of Representatives carries on at 
your bar is a contest in defense of the constitutional rights of the 
Congress of the United States, representing the people of the United 
States, against the arbitrary, unjust, illegal claims of the executive. 

i8o 



Sketches and State Secrets 



"This is the old contest of Europe revived in America. England, 
France, and Spain have each been the theater of this strife. In 
France and Spain the Executive triumphed. In England the people 
were victorious. The people of France gradually but slowly regain 
their rights. But eveji yet there is no freedom of the press in 
France; there is no freedom of the legislative will; the Emperor is 
supreme. 

■"Spain is wholly unregenerated. England alone has a free parlia- 
ment and a government of laws emanating from the enfranchised 
people. These laws are everywhere executed, and a sovereign who 
should wilfully interpose any obstacle would be dethroned without 
delay. In England the law is more mighty than the king. In Amer- 
ica a President claims to be mightier than the law. 

"This result in England was reached by slow movements, and after 
a struggle which lasted through many centuries. John Hampden 
was not the first nor the last of the patriots who resisted executive 
usurpation, but nothing could have been more inapplicable to the 
present circumstances than the introduction of his name as an apol- 
ogy, for the usurpations of Andrew Johnson. 

"No man will question John Hampden's patriotism or the pro- 
priety of his acts when he brought the question whether ship-money 
was within the Constitution of England, before the courts ;" but no 
man will admit that there is any parallel between Andrew Johnson 
and John Hampden. Andrew Johnson takes the place of Charles I, 
and seeks to substitute his own will for the laws of the land. In 
1636 John Hampden resisted the demands of an usurping and un- 
principled king, as does Edwin M. Stanton to-day resist the claims 
and demands of an unprincipled and usurping President. 

"The people of England have successfully resisted executive en- 
croachment upon their rights. Let not their example be lost upon us. 
We suppressed the rebellion in arms, and we are now to expel it 
from the executive councils. This done republican institutions need 
no further illustration or defense. All things then relating to the 
national welfare and life are made as secure as can be any future 
events." 



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182 



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184 




GOVERNOR GEORGE S. BOUTWELL^ M. C, OF MASSACHUSETTS 
LATER, U. S. SENATOR AND SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



Then comes Thomas A. R. Nelson, of Tennessee, an 
elderly gentleman and able lawyer of long practice at the 
bar of his state, and decidedly of the old school. He is one 
of President Johnson's friends and attorneys on this trial. 
He begins with fulsome praise of the President, repeating 
many times the querry, "Who is Andrew Johnson?" with 
eulogistic answers, and declaring he "worshiped the Con- 
stitution of his country next to his God." 

His address was exceedingly long and politically learned. 
To apprise my readers of his southern style of oratory, I 
am pleased to give part of this gentleman's peroration. He 
was prolix, and inclined to be personal and at times, offen- 
sive, in his remarks. Hear him: 

"Mr. Chief Justice and senators, you and each of you, personally 
and individually, have struggled through life until you have reached 
the positions of eminence you now occupy. It has required time 
and study and labor and diligence to do so; but, after all, the fame 
which you have acquired is not your own. It belongs to me; it be- 
longs to others. Forty million American citizens are tenants in 
common of this priceless property. It is not owned alone by you 
and your children. We all have a direct and immediate interest in 
it. Whatever strife may have existed among us as a people; what- 
ever of crimination and recrimination may have been engendered 
amid the fierceness of party passion, yet in the cool moments of calm 
reflection every true patriot loves his country as our common mother, 
and points with just pride to the hard-earned reputation of all her 
children. Let me invoke you, therefore, in the name of all the 
American people, to do nothing that may even seem to be a stain 
upon the judicial ermine, or to dim, for a moment, the bright 
escutcheon of the American Senate. The honorable manager who 
addressed you on yesterday [Mr. Boutwell] referred in eloquent 
terms to Carpenter's historical painting of emancipation. Following 
at an humble distance his example, may I be permitted to say that 
I have never entered the rotunda of this magnificent and gorgeous 
Capitol when I have not felt as if I were treading upon holy ground ; 
and I have sometimes wished that every American sire could be 
compelled by law and at the public expense to bring his children here, 
at least once in their early years, and to cause them to gaze upon 
and to study the statuary and paintings which, at every entrance and 
in every hall and chamber and niche and stairway, are redolent 
with the history of our beloved country. Columbus studying the 
unsolved problem of a new world, and the white man and Indian as 

i86 



Sketches and State Secrets 



types of the march of civilization, arouse attention and reflection at 
the threshold. Within, the speaking canvas proclaims the embarca- 
tion of the Pilgrim Fathers. Their sublime appeal to the God of 
oceans and of storms; their stern determination to seek a "faith's 
pure shrine" among the "sounding aisles of the dim woods," and 
"freedom to Worship God ;" and the divine and angelic countenance 
of Rose Standish as she leans, with woman's love, upon the shoulder 
of her husband, and looks up, with woman's faith, for more than 
mortal aid and guardianship, so fixes and rivets attention, 

" 'That, as you gaze upon the vermil cheek. 
The lifeless figure almost seems to speak.' 

"And there is the grand painting that represents Washington, the 
victor, surrendering his sword after having long before refused a 
crown — one of the sublimest scenes that earth has ever seen, pre- 
senting, as it nobly does, to all the world the greatest and best ex- 
ample of pure and unselfish love of country. Not to speak of other 
teeming memories which everywhere meet the eye and stir the soul, 
as I sat a few days since gazing upward upon the group (Washing- 
ton and the sisterhood of early states) who look down from the 
topmost height of the dome, methought I saw the spirits of departed 
patriots rallying in misty throngs from their blissful abode and clus- 
tering near the wondrous scene that is transpiring now ; and as I 
sat, with face upturned, I seemed to see the shadowy forms descend 
into the building and arrange themselves with silent but stately prep- 
aration in and around this gorgeous apartment. I have seen them, 
in imagination, ever since ! I see them now ! Above and around us. 
There in the galleries, amid those living forms of loveliness and 
beauty, are Martha Washington and Doily Madison and hundreds of 
the maids and matrons of the Revolution, looking down with intense 
interest and anxious expectation, and watching with profoundest 
solicitude the progress of the grandest trial of the nineteenth cen- 
tury. And there, in your very midst and at your sides, are sitting 
the shades of Sherman and Hamilton, Washington and Madison, 
Jefferson and Jackson, Clay and Webster, who in years that are 
past bent every energy and employed every effort to build our own 
great temple of liberty, which has been and will continue in all time 
to be the wonder, the admiration, and the astonishment of the 
world. If there be joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, 
and if the shades of Dives and Lazarus could commune across the 
great gulf with each other, it is no wonder that the spirits of de- 
parted patriots are gathered to witness this mighty inquest, and that 
they are now sitting with you upon this, the most solemn of all 
earthly investigations. Behind the Chief Justice I see the grave and 
solemn face of the intrepid Marshall ; and above, among, and all 
around us, are the impalpable forms of all the artists of our former 
grandeur! Mr. Chief Justice and senators, if you can not clasp 
their shadows to your souls, let me entreat you to feel the inspira- 

187 



Civil- WAR Echoes — Character 



tion of their sacred presence ; and as you love the memory of de- 
parted greatness ; as you revere the names of the patriot fathers ; 
and as you remember the thrilling tones of the patriot voices that 
were wont to speak "the thoughts that breathed and the words that 
burned" with deathless love for our institutions and our laws, so 
may you be enabled to banish from your hearts every vestige of 
prejudice and of feeling, and to determine this great issue in the 
lofty spirit of impartial justice, and with that patriotic regard for our 
present and future glory that ever prompted the action of the purest 
and best and greatest names that, in adorning our own history, have 
illuminated the history of the world. And when the day shall come — 
and may it be far distant^ — when each of you shall "shuffle off this 
mortal coil," may no thorne be planted in the pillow of death to 
imbitter your recollection of the scene that is being enacted now; 
and when the time shall come, as come it may, in some future age, 
when your own spirits shall flit among the hoary columns and cham- 
bers of this edifice, may each of you be then enabled to exclaim — 
" 'Here I faithfully discharged the highest duty of earth ; here I 
nobly disregard all passion, prejudice, and feeling; here I did my 
duty and my whole duty, regardless of consequences; and here I 
find my own name inscribed in letters of gold, flashing and shining, 
upon the immortal roll where the names of all just men and true 
patriots are recorded !' " 

On April 25, 1868, was delivered one of the ablest and 
most scholarly arguments of all to which the Senate had 
listened or was to listen. It was by William S. Groesbeck 
OF Ohio, one of the counsel for the accused. 

It was comparatively short, but compact and "full of 
meat." His style of delivery was superb, graceful and dig- 
nified, with a grand diction and deep sonorous voice, and 
little gesticulation — a splendid-appearing, scholarly gentle- 
man. I give but a brief excerpt from his peroration : 

"What else did he do? He talked with an officer about the law. 
That is the Emory article. He made intemperate speeches, though 
full of honest, patriotic sentiments ; when reviled he should not revile 
again; when smitten upon one cheek he should turn the other. 

"But, says the gentleman who spoke last on behalf of the man- 
agers, he tried to defeat pacification and restoration. I deny it in 
the sense in which he presented it — that is, as a criminal act. Here, 
too, he followed precedent and trod the path on which were the foot- 
prints of Lincoln, and which was bright with the radiance of his 
divine utterance, 'Charity for all, malice toward none.' He was 




THADDEUS STEVENS, M. C, OF PENNSYLVANIA 

"the great commoner" 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



eager for pacification. He thought that the war was ended. It 
seems so. The drums were all silent ; the arsenals were all shut ; 
the roar of the cannon had died away to the last reverberations ; the 
army was disbanded; not a single enemy confronted us in the field. 
Ah, he was too eager, too forgiving, too kind. The hand of concil- 
iation was stretched out to him and he took it. It may be he 
should have put it away, but was it a crime to take it? Kindness, 
forgiveness, a crime? Kindness a crime? Kindness is omnipotent 
for good, more powerful than gunpowder or cannon. Kindness is 
statesmanship. Kindness is the high statesmanship of Heaven 
itself. The thunders of Sinai do but terrify and distract; alone they 
accomplish little ; it is the kindness of Calvary that subdues and 
pacifies. 

"What shall I say of this man? He is no theorist; he is no re- 
former. I have looked over his life. He has ever walked in beaten 
paths, and by the light of the Constitution. The mariner, tempest- 
tossed in mid-sea, does not more certainly turn to his star for guid- 
ance than does this man in trial and difficulty to the star of the 
Constitution. He loves the Constitution. It has been the study of 
his life. He is not learned and scholarly, like many of you ; he is 
not a man of many ideas, or of much speculation ; but by a law of 
the mind he is only the truer to that he does know. He is a patriot 
second to no one of you in the measure of his patriotism. He loves 
his country. He may be full of error ; I will not canvass now his 
views; but he loves his country. He has the courage to defend it, 
and I believe to die for it if need be. His courage and his patriot- 
ism are not without illustration. 

"My colleague [Mr. Nelson] referred the other day to the scenes 
which occurred in this chamber when he alone of twenty-two sena- 
tors remained ; even his state seceded, but he remained. That was 
a trial of his patriotism, of which many of you, by reason of your 
locality and your life-long association, know nothing. How his voice 
rang out in this hall in the hour of alarm for the good cause, and 
in denunciation of the rebellion. But he did not remain here ; it 
was a pleasant, honorable, safe, and easy position ; but he was wanted 
for a more difficult and arduous and perilous service. He faltered 
not, but entered upon it. That was a trial of his courage and patriot- 
ism of which some of you who now sit in judgment on more than 
his life know nothing. I have often thought that those who dwelt 
at the north, safely distant from the collisions and strife of the 
war, knew but little of its actual trying dangers. We who lived on 
the border know more. Our horizon was always red with its flame ; 
and it sometimes burned so near us that we could feel its heat upon 
the outstretched hand. But he was wanted for greater peril, and 
went into the very furnace of the war, and there served his country 
long and well. Who of you have done more? Not one. There is 
one here whose services can not be over-estimated, as I well know, 
and I withdraw all comparison. 

190 



Sketches and State Secrets 



"But it is enough to say that his services were great and needed; 
and it seems hard, it seems cruel, senators, that he should be dragged 
here as a criminal, or that any one who served his country and bore 
himself well and bravely through that trying ordeal should be con- 
demned upon miserable technicalities. 

"If he has committed any gross crime, shocking alike and indis- 
criminately the entire public mind, then condemn him; but he has 
rendered service to the country that entitles him to kind and respect- 
ful consideration. He has precedents for everything he has done, 
and what excellent precedents ! The voices of the great dead come 
to us from the grave sanctioning his course. All our past history 
approves it. How can you single out this man, in this condition of 
things and brand him before the world, put your brand of infamy 
upon him because he made an ad interim appointment for a day, and 
possibly may have made a mistake in attempting to remove Stanton? 
I can at a glance put my eye upon senators here who would not 
endure the position which he occupied. You do not think it is right 
yourselves. You framed this civil-tenure law to give each Presi- 
dent his own cabinet, and yet his whole crime is that he wants har- 
mony and peace in his. 

"Senators, I will not go on. There is a great deal that is crowding 
on my tongue for utterance, but it is not from my head; it is rather 
from my heart; and it would be but a repetition of the vain things 
I have been saying the past half hour. But I do hope you will not 
drive the President out and take possession of his office. I hope 
this not merely as counsel for Andrew Johnson ; for Andrew John- 
son's administration is to me but as a moment, and himself as noth- 
ing in comparison with the possible consequences of such an act. 
No good can come of it, senators, and how much will the heart of 
the nation be refreshed if at last the Senate of the United States 
can, in its judgment upon this case, maintain its ancient dignity and 
high character in the midst of storm and passion and strife." 

Two days afterward followed Thaddeus Stevens of 
Pennsylvania, one of the strongest characters that ever 
sat in the halls of legislation in any country. Who can for- 
get that imperial Csesarean countenance! What a noble 
forehead that ! What a commanding air ! What a fearless 
searching eye ! 

What a massive face ! And what a pity he was, on this 
occasion, so feeble and worn out from public service that he 
was unable to personally finish his argument! Hear this 
great statesman and "manager" as with almost dying breath 
he closed with the words : 

191 



Civil- WAR Echoes — Character 



"Andrew Johnson had changed Lincoln's whole code of politics 
and policy, and instead of obeying the will of those who put him into 
power, he determined to create a party for himself, to carry out his 
own ambitious purposes. For every honest purpose of government, 
and for every honest purpose for which Mr. Stanton was appointed 
by Mr. Lincoln, where could a better man be found? None ever 
organized an army of a million of men, and provided for its sub- 
sistence and efficient action, more rapidly than Mr. Stanton and his 
predecessor. 

"It might with more propriety be said of this officer than of the 
celebrated Frenchman, that he 'organized victory.' He raised and 
by his requisitions distribsted more than a billion dollars annually, 
without ever having been charged or suspected with the malappro- 
priation of a single dollar; and when victory crowned his efforts 
he disbanded that immense army as quietly and peacefully as if it 
had been a summer parade. He would not, I suppose, adopt the 
personal views of the President ; and for this, he was suspended 
until restored by the emphatic verdict of the Senate. Now, if we are 
right in our narrative of the conduct of these parties and the motives 
of the President, the very effort at removal was a high-handed usur- 
pation as well as a corrupt misdemeanor for which of itself he ought 
to be impeached and thrown from the place he was abusing. But 
he says that he did not remove Mr. Stanton for the purpose of 
defeating the tenure-of-office law. Then he forgot the trvith in his 
controversy with the General of the army. And because the General 
did not aid him, and finally admit that he had agreed to aid him in 
resisting that law, he railed upon him like a very drab. 

"The counsel for the respondent allege that no removal of Mr. 
Stanton ever took place, and that therefore the sixth section of the 
act was not violated. They admit that there was an order of removal 
and a recission of his commission ; but, as he did not obey it, they 
say it was no removal. That suggests the old saying that it used to 
be thought that 'when the brains were out the man was dead.' That 
idea is proved by learned counsel to be absolutely fallacious. The 
brain of Mr. Stanton's commission was taken out by the order of 
removal — the recission of his commission — and his head was abso- 
lutely cut off by that gallant soldier, General Thomas, the night after 
the masquerade. And yet, according to the learned and delicate 
counsel, until the moral remains — everything which could putrefy — 
was shovelled out and hauled into the muck-yard there was no re- 
moval. But it is said that this took place merely as an experiment 
to make a judicial case. Now, suppose there is anybody who, with 
the facts before him, can believe that this was not an afterthought, 
let us see if that palliates the offense. 

"The President is sworn to take care that the laws be faithfully 
executed. In what part of the Constitution or laws does he find it 
to be his duty to search out for defective laws that stand recorded 
upon the statutes in order that he may advise their infraction? Who 

192 



Sketches and State Secrets 



was aggrieved by the tenure-of-office bill that he was authorized to 
use the name and the funds of the government to relieve? Will he 
be so good as to tell us by what authority he became the obstructor 
of an unrepealed law instead of its executor, especially a law whose 
constitutionality he had twice tested? If there were nothing else 
than his own statement, he deserves the contempt of the American 
people, and the punishment of its highest tribunal. If he were not 
willing to execute the laws passed by the American Congress and 
unrepealed, let him resign the office which was thrown upon him by 
a horrible convulsion and retire to his village obscurity. Let him 
not be so swoolen by pride and arrogance, which sprang from the 
deep misfortune of his country, as to attempt an entire revolution 
of its internal machinery, and the disgrace of the trusted servants 
of his lamented predecessor. 

"The gentleman [Mr. Groesbeck] in his peroration on Saturday 
implored the sympathy of the Senate with all the elegance and pathos 
of a Roman senator pleading for virtue; and it is to be feared that 
his grace and eloquence turned the attention of the Senate upon the 
orator rather than upon the accused. Had he been pleading for inno- 
cence his great powers would have been well exerted. Had he been 
arguing with equal eloquence before a Roman senate for such a 
delinquent, and Cato, the Censor, had been one of the judges, his 
client would have soon found himself in the stocks in the middle of 
the forum instead of receiving the sympathy of a virtuous and patri- 
otic audience." 

[Mr. Manager Stevens read a portion of his argument standing 
at the Secretary's desk; but after proceeding a few minutes, being 
too feeble to stand, obtained permission to take a seat, and having 
read nearly half an hour from a chair until his voice became almost 
too weak to be heard, handed over his manuscript to Mr. Manager 
Butler, who concluded the reading.] 

Next comes Thomas Williams, of Pennsylvania, also 
one of the "managers," a modest, retiring man, but a 
strong logician and fine speaker. I give a short portion of 
his closing: 

"And now, let me ask you, in conclusion, to turn your eyes but 
for a moment to the other side of the question, and see what are to 
be the consequences of a conviction — of such a verdict as, I think, 
the loyal people of this nation, with one united voice, demand at 
your hands. Do you shrink from the consequences ? Are your minds 
disturbed by visions of impending trouble? The nation has already, 
within a few short years, been called to mourn the loss of a great 
Chief Magistrate, though the bloody catastrophe by which a rebel 
hand has been, unfortunately, enabled to lift this man into his place, 

14 193 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



and the jar has not been felt as the mighty machine of state, freighted 
with all the hopes of humanity, moved onward in its high career. This 
nation is too great to be affected seriously by the loss of any one 
man. Are your hearts softened by touching appeals of the defend- 
ant's counsel, who say to you that you are asked to punish this man 
only for his divine mercy, his exalted charity toward others ? Mercy 
to whom? To the murdered Dostie and his fellows, to the loyal 
men whose carcasses were piled in carts like those of swine, with the 
gore dripping from the wheels, in that holocaust of blood, that car- 
nival of murder which was enacted at New Orleans ? To those who 
perished in that second St. Bartholomew at Memphis, where the 
streets were reddened with the lurid light of burning dwellings, and 
the loyal occupants, who would have escaped, were cast back into the 
flames? The divine mercy itself is seasoned by justice, and waits only 
on contrition. This is no place for such emotions. If it be, it is but 
mercy to loyalty and innocence that cries aloud for the removal of 
this bold, bad man. If it be, remember that while your loyal brethren 
are falling from day to day in southern cities by the assassin's knife, 
and the reports of the Freedmen's Bureau are replete with horrors 
at which the very cheek turns pale, your judgment here stains no 
scaffold with the blood of the victim. No lictor waits at your doors 
to execute your stern decree. It is but the crown that falls, while 
none but the historian stands by to gibbet the delinquent for the 
ages that are to come. No wail of woe will disturb your slumbers, 
unless it comes up from the disaffected and disappointed South, 
which will have lost the foremost of its friends. Your act will be a 
spectacle and an example to the nations, that will eclipse even the 
triumph of your arms, in the vindication of the public justice in the 
sublimer and more peaceful triumph of the law. The eyes of an 
expectant people are upon you. You have but to do your duty, and 
the patriot will realize that the good genius of the nation, the angel 
of our deliverance, is still about us and around us, as in the darkest 
hour of the nation's trial." 

On the same day William M. Evarts of New York be- 
gan the longest speech of the trial, finishing it on May i. I 
need describe his personal appearance but briefly. In phy- 
sique he was slight and about five feet nine inches in height ; 
a thin, highly intellectual, classical face, Roman nose, full, 
broad, and high forehead, a large, wide and oblong head, 
set and held somewhat on the order of Senator Fessenden's. 
His elocution was slow and exceedingly deliberate, ges- 
tures sparce ; courteous and considerate — a walking ency- 
clopedia of laAv and history, sacred and profane. His sen- 

194 




U. S. SENATOR SIMON CAMERON, PENNSYLVANIA 
EX-SECRETARY OF WAR 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



tences were decidedly Miltonic in their great length and 
ponderous gravity and scholarship — "without terminals," as 
he once said. 

My reader must rest content if I serve no more of Evarts' 
than I have given of the other speakers. I offer the per- 
oration of what many regarded as the ablest of all these 
mighty intellectual offspring. Listen, ye lawyers and 
scholars : 

"Power does not always sway and swing from the same center. I 
have seen great changes and great evils come from this matter of 
unconstitutional laws not attended to as unconstitutional, but as- 
serted, and prevailing, too, against the Constitution, till at last the 
power of the Constitution took other form than that of peaceful, 
judicial determination and execution. I will put some instances of 
the wickedness of disobeying unconstitutional laws and of the tri- 
umph of those who maintained it to be right and proper. 

"I knew a case where the state of Georgia undertook to make it 
penal for a Christian missionary to preach the gospel to the Indians, 
and I knew by whose advice the missionary determined that he 
would preach the gospel and not obey the law of Georgia, on the 
assurance that the Constitution of the United States would bear 
him out in it ; and the missionary, as gentle as a woman, but as firm 
as every free citizen of the United States ought to be, kept on preach- 
ing to the Cherokees. 

"And I knew the great leader of the moral and religious sentiment 
of the United States, who, representing in this body, and by the same 
name and of the blood of one of its distinguished senators now 
[Mr. Frelinghuysen] the state of New Jersey tried hard to save 
his country from the degradation of the oppression of the Indians 
at the instance of the haughty planters of Georgia. The Supreme 
Court of the United States held the law unconstitutional and issued 
its mandate, and the state of Georgia laughed at it and kept the mis- 
sionary in prison, and Chief Justice Marshall and Judge Story and 
their colleagues hung their heads at the want of power in the Con- 
stitution to maintain the departments of it. But the war came, and 
as from the clouds from Lookout Mountain swooping down upon 
Missionary Ridge came the thunders of the violated Constitution of 
the United States, and the lightnings of its power over the still home 
of the missionary Worcester, taught the state of Georgia what comes 
of violating the Constitution of the United States. 

"I have seen an honored citizen of the state of Massachusetts, in 
behalf of its colored seamen, seek to make a case by visiting South 
Carolina to extend over those poor and feeble people the protection 
of the Constitution of the United States. I have seen him attended 

196 



Sketches and State Secrets 



by a daughter and grandchild of a signer of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence and a framer of the Constitution, who might be supposed 
to have a right to its protection, driven by the power of Charleston 
and the power of South Carolina, and the mob and the gentlemen 
alike, out of that state and prevented from making a case to take 
to the Supreme Court to assert the protection of the Constitution. 
And I have lived to see the case thus made up determined that if 
the Massachusetts seamen, for the support of slavery, could not have 
a case made up, then slavery must cease; and I have lived to see 
a great captain of our armies, a gentleman of the name and blood of 
Sherman, sweep his tempestuous war from the mountain to the sea, 
and returning home trample the state of South Carolina beneath 
the tread of his soldiery ; and I have thought that the Constitution of 
the United States had some processes stronger than civil mandates 
that no resistance could meet. I do not think the people of Massa- 
chusetts suppose that efforts to set aside unconstitutional laws and 
to make cases for the Supreme Court of the United States are so 
wicked as is urged here by some of its representatives ; and I believe 
that if we can not be taught by the lessons we have learned of 
obedience to the Constitution in peaceful methods of finding out its 
pieaning, we shall yet need to receive some other instruction on 
the subject. 

"The strength of every system is in its weakest part. Alas for 
that rule ! But when the weakest part breaks, the whole is broken. 
The chain lets slip the ship when the weak links break, and the ship 
founders. The body fails when the weak function is vitally attacked ; 
and so with every structure, social and political, the weak point is 
the point of danger, and the weak point of the Constitution is now 
before you in the maintenance of the co-ordination of the depart- 
ments of the government, and if one can not be kept from devouring 
another then the experiment of our ancestors will fail. They at- 
tempted to interpose justice. If that fails, what can endure? 

"We have come all at once to the great experiences and trials of a 
full-grown nation, all of which we thought we should escape. We 
never dreamed that an instructed and equal people, with freedom in 
every form, with a government yielding to the touch of popular will 
so readily, ever would come to the trials of force against it. We 
never thought that what other systems from oppression had devel- 
oped — civil war — would be our fate without oppression. We never 
thought that the remedy to get rid of a despotic ruler fixed by a 
Constitution against the will of the people would ever bring assassi- 
nation into our political experience. We never thought that political 
differences under an elective presidency would bring in array the 
departments of the government against one another to anticipate by 
ten months the operation of the regular election. And yet we take 
them all, one after another, and we take them because we have 
grown to the full vigor of manhood, when the strong passions and 
interests that have destroyed other nations, composed of human 

197 



C I V I L - w A R Echoes — Character 



nature like ourselves, have overthrown them. But we have met by 
the powers of the Constitution these great dangers — prophesied when 
they would arise as likely to be our doom — the distractions of civil 
strife, the exhaustions of powerful war, the intervention of the regu- 
larity of power through the violence of assassination. We could 
summon from the people a million of men and inexhaustible treasure 
to help the Constitution in its time of need. Can we summon now 
resources enough of civil prudence and of restraint of passion to 
carry us through this trial, so that whatever result may follow, in 
whatever form, the people may feel that the Constitution has received 
no wound? To this court, the last and best resort for this determi- 
nation, it is to be left. And oh, if you could only carry yourselves 
back to the spirit and the purpose and the wisdom and the courage 
of the framers of the government, how safe would it be in your 
hands ! How safe is it now in your hands, for you who have entered 
into their labors will see to it that the structure of your work com- 
ports in durability and excellency with theirs. Indeed, so familiar 
has the course of the argument made us with the names of the men of 
the convention and of the first Congress that I could sometimes seem 
to think that the presence even of the Chief Justice was replaced by 
the serene majesty of Washington, and that from Massachusetts we 
had Adams and Ames, from Connecticut, Sherman and Ellsworth, 
from New Jersey, Patterson and Boudinot, and from New York, 
Hamilton and Benson, and that they were to determine this case for 
us. Act, then, as if under this serene and majestic presence your 
deliberations were to be conducted to their close, and the Constitu- 
tion was to come out from the watchful solicitude of these great 
guardians of it as if from their ow-n judgment in this high court 
of impeachment." 

Next comes Henry SrANfBERfY, Attorney General of 
THE United States, and of coiin,sel for the accused 
President ; a large, dignified, able lawyer. 

He addresses himself to each article of the impeachment, 
seriatim, citing numerous authorities on the question of 
"ouster," — a legal procedure for removal from office, — 
quoting from the Shakespeare plays, reading testimony, 
etc. He closes his argument with the following words : 

"Yes, senators, I have seen that man tried as few have been tried. 
I have seen his confidence abused. I have seen him endure, day 
after day, provocations such as few men have ever been called upon 
to meet. No man could have met them with more sublime patience. 
Sooner or later, however, I knew the explosion must come. And 
when it did come my only wonder was that it had been so long 

198 



Sketches and State Secrets 



delayed. Yes, senators, with all his faults, the President has been 
more sinned against than sinning. Fear not, then, to acquit him. 
The Constitution of the country is as safe in his hands from violence 
as it was in the hands of Washington. But if, senators, you con- 
demn him, if you strip him of the robes of his office, if you degrade 
him to the utmost stretch of your power, mark the prophecy: The 
strong arms of the people will be about him. They will find a way 
to raise him from any depths to which you may consign him, and 
we shall live to see him redeemed, and to hear the majestic voice of 
the people, 'Well done, faithful servant ; you shall have your reward !' 
"But if, senators, as I can not believe, but as has been boldly said 
with almost official sanction, your votes have been canvassed and 
the doom of the President is sealed, then let that judgment not be 
pronounced in this Senate chamber ; not here, where our Camillus 
in the hour of our greatest peril, single-handed, met and baffled the 
enemies of the republic ; not here, where he stood faithful among the 
faithless ; not here, where he fought the good fight for the Union 
and the Constitution; not in this chamber, whose walls echo with 
that clarion voice that, in the days of our greatest danger, carried 
hope and comfort to many a desponding heart, strong as an army 
with banners. No, not here. Seek out rather the darkest and 
gloomiest chamber in the subterranean recesses of this Capitol, where 
the cheerful light of day never enters. There erect the altar and 
immolate the victim." 

On May 4, 1868, the closing argument of the case 
was begun by John A. Bingham, of Ohio. The speech 
was for the prosecution, and was finished on the 6th of May. 
It was unquestionably the most thorough in its analysis, 
the most powerful in its invective, the most thrilling in its 
eloquence, and the most convincing in its logic of any that 
were delivered during the entire trial. It exhibited a thor- 
ough knowledge of the political history of this as well as 
the mother country. It was remarkably free from quota- 
tions — citing only a few of Daniel Webster's interpreta- 
tions of the provisions of the Constituion. He closed with 
an exegesis of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Consti- 
tution, and with quavering voice, powerful and penetrating, 
his whole soul aflame with love of country, his graceful 
figure drawn up to its full height, his face aglow with 
pride and passion, his grandly shaped head, with massive 
brow, thrown back and uplifted, with sometime one arm 

199 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



and hand held aloft and then the other, he rivaled 
Demosthenes and Cicero in their palmiest days and Wen- 
dell Phillips, the greatest orator of modern times, as he 
uttered the following magnificent peroration: 

"Senators, you will pardon me, but I will detain you but a few 
moments longer, for asking your attention to another view of this 
question between the people and the executive. I use the words of 
England's brilliant historian when I say had not the legislative power 
of England triumphed over the usurpation of James, 'with what a 
crash, felt and heard to the furthest ends of the world, would the 
whole vast fabric of society have fallen.' May God forbid that the 
future historian shall record of this day's proceedings, that by rea- 
son of the failure of the legislative power of the people to triumph 
over the usurpations of an apostate President through the defection 
of the Senate of the United States, the just and great fabric of 
American empire fell and perished from the earth ! The great revo- 
lution of 1688 in England was a forerunner of your own Constitution. 
The Declaration of Rights to which I have referred but reasserted 
the ancient constitution of England, not found in any written instru- 
ment, but scattered through the statutes of four centuries. 

"The great principles thus reasserted by the Declaration of Rights 
in 1688 were, that no law should be passed without the consent of 
the representatives of the nation, no tax should be laid, no regular 
soldiery should be kept up, no citizen should be deprived for a sin- 
gle day of his liberty by the arbitrary will of the sovereign, no tool 
of power should plead the royal mandate in justification for the 
violation of any legal right of the humblest citizen, and forever swept 
away the assumption that the executive perorgative was above the 
fundamental law. These were the principles involved in that day in 
the controversy between the people and their recusant sovereign. 
They are precisely the principles this day involved in the controversy 
between the people and their recusant President. Without revolu- 
tion, senators, like the great Parliament of 1688, you are asked to 
reassert the principles of the Constitution of your country, not 
to be searched for through the statutes of centuries, but to be found 
in that grand, sacred, written instrument given to us by the fathers 
of the republic. The Constitution of the United States, as I have 
said, embodies all that is valuable of England's Declaration of 
Rights, of England's constitution and laws. It was ordained by the 
people of the United States amid the convulsions and agonies of 
nations. By its express provisions all men within its jurisdiction are 
equal before the law, equally entitled to those rights of person which 
are as universal as the material structure of one man, and equally 
liable to answer to its tribunals of justice for every injury done 
either to the citizen or to the state. 

200 




JOHN A. BINGHAMj M. C.^ OF OHIO 
LATER, U. S. MINISTER TO JAPAN 



Civil- \\^AR Echoes — Character 



"It is this spirit of justice, of liberty, of equality that makes your 
Constitution dear to freemen in this and in all lands, in that it secures 
to every man his rights, and to the people at large the inestimable 
right of self-government, the right which is this day challenged by 
this usurping President, for if he be a law to himself the people are 
no longer their own law-makers through their representatives in 
Congress assembled ; the President thereby simply becomes their 
dictator. If the President becomes a dictator he will become so by 
the judgment of the Senate, not by the text of the Constitution, not 
by any interpretation heretofore put upon it by any act of the people, 
nor by any act of the people's representatives. The representatives 
of the people have discharged their duty in his impeachment. They 
have presented him at the bar of the Senate for trial, in that he has 
usurped and attempted to combine in himself the legislative and 
judicial powers of this greal: people, thereby claiming for himself a 
power by which he may annihilate their government. We have seen 
that when the supremacy of their Constitution was challenged by 
battle, the people made such sacrifice to maintain it as has no parallel 
in history. 

"Can it be that after this triumph of law over anarchy, of right 
over wrong, of patriotism over treason, the Constitution and laws 
are again to be assailed in the capital of the nation in the person of 
the chief magistrate, and by the judgment of the Senate he is to 
be protected in that usurpation ? The President by his answer and 
by the representations of his counsel asks you — deliberately asks you — 
by your own judgment to set the accused above the Constitution 
which he has violated and above the people whom he has betrayed ; 
and that, too, upon the prete'xt that the President has the right 
judicially to construe the Constitution for himself, and judicially to 
decide for himself the validity of your laws, and to plead in justifi- 
cation at your bar that his only purpose in thus violating the Con- 
stitution and the laws is to test their validity and ascertain the con- 
struction of the Constitution upon his own motion in the courts of 
justice, and thereby suspend your further proceeding. 

"I ask you, senators, how long men would deliberate upon the 
question whether a private citizen, arraigned at the bar of one of 
your tribunals of justice for a criminal violation of the law, should 
be permitted to interpose a plea in justification of his criminal act 
that his only purpose was to interpret the Constitution and laws for 
himself, that he violated the law in the exercise of his prerogative 
to test its validity hereafter at such day as might suit his own con- 
venience in the courts of justice. Surely, senators, it is competent 
for the private citizen to interpose such justification in answer to 
crime in one of your tribunals of justice as it is for the President 
of the United States to interpose it, and for the simple reason that 
the Constitution is no respector of persons and vests neither in the 
President nor in the private citizen judicial power. 



Sketches and State Secrets 



"Pardon me for saying it; I speak it in no offensive spirit; I 
speak it from a sense of duty ; I utter but my own conviction, and 
desire to place it upon the record, that for the Senate to sustain any 
such plea, would, in my judgment, be a gross violation of the already 
violated Constitution and laws of a free people. 

I'Can it be, senators, that by your decree you are at last to make 
this discrimination between the ruler of the people and the private 
citizen, and allow him to interpose his assumed right to interpret 
judicially your Constitution and laws? Are you really, solemnly to 
proclaim by your decree : 

" 'Plate sin with gold, 
And the strong lance of justice hurtless breaks: 
Arm it in rags, a pigmy's straw doth pierce it?' 

"I put away the possibility that the Senate of the United States, 
equal in dignity to any tribunal in the world, is capable of recording 
any such decision even upon the petition and prayer of this accused 
and guilty President. Can it be that by reason of his great office the 
President is to be protected in his high crimes and misdemeanors, 
violative alike of his oath, of the Constitution, and of the express 
letter of your written law enacted by the legislative department of 
the government? 

"Senators, I have said perhaps more than I ought to have said. I 
have said perhaps more than there was occasion to say. I know 
that I stand in the presence of men illustrious in our country's his- 
tory. I know that I stand in the presence of men who 
for long years have been in the nation's councils. I 
know that I stand in the presence of men who may, in some 
sen.se, be called to-day the living fathers of the republic. I ask you 
to consider that I speak before you this day in behalf of the violated 
law of a free people who commission me. I ask you to remember 
that I speak this day under the obligations of my oath. I ask you 
to consider that I am not insensible to the significance of the words 
of which mention was made by the learned counsel from New York: 
'justice, duty, law, oath.' I ask you to remember that the great prin- 
ciples of constitutional liberty for which I this day speak have been 
taught to men and nations by all the trials and triumphs, by all the 
agonies and martyrdoms of the past ; that they are the wisdom of 
the centuries uttered by the elect of the human race who were 
made perfect throtigh suffering. 

I ask you to consider that we stand this day pleading for the 
violated majesty of the law, by the graves of a half million of 
martyred hero-patriots who made death beautiful by the sacrifice of 
themselves for their country, the Constitution, and the laws, and 
who, by their sublime example, have taught us that all must obey 
the law ; that none are above the law ; that no man lives for him- 
self alone, but each for all ; that some must die that the state may 
live; that the citizen is at best but for to-day, while the common- 

203 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



wealth is for all time; and that position, however high, patronage, 
however powerful, can not be permitted to shelter crime to the 
peril of the republic. 

It only remains for me, senators, to thank you, as I do, for the 
honor you have done me by your kind attention, and to demand, 
in the name of the House of Representatives, and of the people of 
the United States, judgment against the accused for the high crimes 
and misdemeanors in office whereof he stands impeached, and of 
which before God and man he is guilty." 

As Mr. Manager Bingham concluded there were manifestations of 
applause in different portions of the galleries, with cheers. 

The Chief Justice. Order! Order! If this be repeated, the ser- 
geant-at-arms will clear the galleries. 

This announcement was received with laughter and hisses by some 
persons in the galleries, while others continued the cheering and 
clapping of hands. 

Mr. Grimes. Mr. Chief Justice, I move that the order of the court 
to clear the galleries be immediately enforced. 

The motion was agreed to. 

The Chief Justice. The sergeant-at-arms will clear the gal- 
leries. [Hisses and cheers and clapping of hands in parts of the 
galleries.] If the offense be repeated the sergeant-at-arms will 
arrest the offenders. 

Mr. Trumbull. I move that the sergeant-at-arms be directed to 
arrest the persons making the disturbance, if he can find them, as 
well as to clear the galleries. 

The Chief Justice. The Chief Justice has already given directions 
to that effect. 

[The sergeant-at-arms, by his assistants, continued to execute 
the order by clearing the galleries.] 

Mr. Cameron. Mr. President, I hope the galleries will not be 
cleared. A large portion of persons in the galleries had a very dif- 
ferent feeling from that expressed by those who clapped and ap- 
plauded. It was one of those extraordinary occasions which will 
happen sometimes 

Several Senators. Order. 

Mr. Fessenden. I call the senator to order. 

The Chief Justice. Debate is not in order. 

Mr. Cameron. We all know that such outbursts will occasionally 
take place 

Mr. Johnson. I call the member to order. 

The Chief Justice. The senator from Pennsylvania is not in order. 
The galleries will be cleared. 

Mr. CoNNESS. Mr. President, I move that the court take a recess 
for fifteen minutes. 

Several Senators. Not until the galleries are cleared. 

204 



Sketches and State Secrets 



The Chief Justice. The question is on the motion of the senator 
from California, that the Senate, sitting as a court of impeachment, 
take a recess for fifteen minutes. 

The motion was not agreed to. 

Mr. Davis. I ask the presiding officer to have the order to clear 
the galleries enforced. 

The Chief Justice. The sergeant-at-arms states to the presiding 
officer that the order is being enforced as fast as practicable. 

Mr. Sherman. Mr. President, is it in order to move that the 
Senate retire to its chamber for deliberation? I will make that 
motion, if it is in order. 

Mr. Trumbull. I hope not. 

The Chief Justice. The Chief Justice thinks that until the order 
of the Senate is enforced it can not properly take any other order 
or proceed with any other matter. 

Mr. Sherman. Very well. 

Mr. Trumbull. No order can be made until the galleries are 
cleared. That order is being executed. 

Mr. Sherman. I think many persons in the galleries do not under- 
stand that they are ordered to leave the galleries. There is some 
misapprehension, I think. 

The Chief Justice. The persons in attendance in the galleries 
are informed that the Senate has made an order that the galleries 
be cleared, and it is expected that those in the galleries will respect 
the order. 

The galleries having been cleared with the exception of the diplo- 
matic gallery and the reporters' gallery, 

Mr. Anthony. Mr. President, I move that the further execution 
of the order be dispensed with. 

Mr. Trumbull. I insist that the order be executed. 

Several Senators. So do I. 

The Chief Justice. Does the senator from Rhode Island with- 
.draw his motion ? 

Mr. Anthony. No, sir; I make the motion. 

The Chief Justice. The senator from Rhode Island moves that 
the further execution of the order in regard to clearing the galleries 
be suspended. 

Mr. CoNKLiNG. I wish to ask a question of the Chair. I inquire 
whether the suspension of the order will open all the galleries for 
the return of those who have been turned out? 

The Chief Justice. The Chief Justice thinks it would have that 
effect. 

Mr. Trumbull. I hope the order will not be suspended. Let it 
be executed. 

The Chief Justice. The question is on the motion to suspend 
the order clearing the galleries. 

The motion was not agreed to. 

The Chief Justice. The galleries will be cleared. 

205 



CiviL-\vAK Echoes — Character 



From May 7th to the 12th, the Senate, as a court, was 
engaged in settHng upon the manner of taking the final 
vote upon the question of the guilt of the accused President 
as charged. On the latter day, Tuesday, the Senate voted 
to adjourn to the following Saturday on account of the 
serious illness of Senator Ploward. of IMichigan, caused by 
overwork and indigestion. On that day, the i6th of May, 
1868, having been under the skillful treatment of Doctor 
Bliss, he arrived in the Senate chamber — its floor and galler- 
ies filled almost to suffocation — and after having filed art 
elaborate opinion, when his name was called arose and pro- 
nounced his verdict of "Guilty," the vote first being taken 
on article eleven. The total vote was thirty-five, guilty, 
nineteen not guilty. Thus one vote was lacking to make 
the requisite two-thirds in order to convict, out of a total 
of fifty-four Senators. 

An adjournment was taken to the following Tuesday 
and the voting resumed on the second and third articles ; 
the result was the same — 35 to 19 — one vote wanting in 
order to convict ! It being thus demonstrated that a con- 
viction was an impossibility, the Chief Justice announced 
that as Rule XXII provided that if "Upon any of the arti- 
cles presented, the impeachment shall not he sustained by 
the votes of two-thirds of the members present, a judgment 
of acquittal shall be entered," he thereupon ordered the 
judgment to be entered by the clerk, and that ''The Senate, 
sitting as a Court of Impeachment for the trial of Andrezv 
Johnson, upon articles of impeachment presented by the 
House of Representatives, stands adjourned zinthout day." 
Thus closed the great trial, midst a deathlike stillness. 

I personally felt convinced long before the first of the 
votes was taken upon the question of guilt that the verdict 
would be in favor of the President. I hope my reader will 
not deem me unduly egotistical in stating that I had made 
a prediction in writing that the identical seven Republican 

206 




NATHANIEL P. BANKS, M. C, OF MASSACHUSETTS 

EX-SPEAKER, U. S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ; 

EX-MAJOR GENERlAL, U. S. VOLS. 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



senators who voted for acquittal would do so. I had for 
several years during the sessions of Congress made a care- 
ful study of the temperaments and characteristics of these, 
as well as other senators; I seemed to be able to penetrate 
their inmost habits of thought, and I wrote out their names 
on a sheet of paper and explained to my father why I was 
certain their votes would be cast as they were. It was 
purely inductive reasoning from facts gathered at odd 
times' and occasions. The vote of one of these seven Re- 
publican senators I know positively was given in favor of 
the President purely out of personal gratitude to him for 
past favors and kindnesses rendered the senator's invalid 
and dying wife by the President and his family. The 
source of this state secret is forbidden me to disclose. That 
senator is now dead. Let these concluding remarks be but 
the dying "echoes" of the great state trial, which I have 
thus briefly attempted to describe, leaving much that must 
be supplied by the imagination of my reader. Perhaps, 
after all, it was the dangers feared from bluflf old Ben 
Wade's "radicalism," by the seven Republican conservative 
senators who voted for acquittal, that largely resulted in 
producing the final vote, rather than an absence of sufficient 
cause shown for conviction. Such was the belief of many 
people. Reaction against "radicalism" in Congress may be 
dated from this great trial. 

The Senate as a Court of Impeachment 

The Senate has sat as a Court of Impeachment in the following 
cases: 

William Blount, a senator of the United States from Georgia; 
charges dismissed for want of jurisdiction; Monday, December 17, 
1798, to Monday, January 14, 1799. 

John Pickering, judge of the United States District Court for the 
district of New Hampshire; removed from office; March 3, 1803, 
to Monday, March 12, 1804. 

Samuel Chase, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the 
United States, acquitted ; Friday, November 30, 1804, to March i, 
1805. 

208 



Sketches and State Secrets 



James H. Peck, judge of the United States District Court for the 
district of Missouri; acquitted; Monday, April 26, 1830, to Monday, 
January 31, 1831. 

West H. Humphreys, judge of the United States District Court 
for the middle, eastern, and western districts of Tennessee; removed 
from office; Wednesday, May 7, 1862, to Thursday, June 26, 1862. 

Andrew Johnson, President of the United States ; acquitted ; Tues- 
day, February 25, 1868, to Tuesday, May 26, 1868. 

WilHam W. Belknap, Secretary of War; acquitted; Friday, March 
3, 1876, to Tuesday, August i, 1876. 

Charles Swayne, judge of the United States District Court for 
the northern district of Florida; acquitted; Wednesday, December 
14, 1904, to Monday, February 27, 1905. 



15 ^<>0 



CHAPTER FIVE 
Flotsam and Jetsam — A Melange 

GENERAL MEADE's FEAR OF REMOVAL AFTER BATTLE OF GET- 
tysburg general sickles' confirmation as major 

general; how it was done — fun at general kil- 

PATRICK'S headquarters review of second ARMY 

corps — JAMES G. BLAINE's INDISCREET MIDNIGHT CALL 
— SECRETARY EDWIN M. STANTON's VIOLENT TALK ABOUT 
FRENCH OCCUPATION IN MEXICO; HIS CHARACTERISTICS 

A TRIP ACROSS THE PLAINS WITH GENERAL HANCOCK, 

HIS APPEARANCE, ETC. GRAND BUFFALO HUNT — MRS. 

GENERAL CUSTER — HUMOROUS IRISH SURGEON, HIS 
SONGS, "mARY-EYE-JANE,'"' ""ye'lL COME BACK AGIN," 

ETC. ""wild BILL," GREATEST OF U. S. SCOUTS — A VERY 

PATHETIC AND PICTURESQUE SCENE — NOTABLES AT 
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, VA. : MISS BECK, OF KEN- 
TUCKY AN OLD-TIME U. S. SENATOR OF SOUTH CARO- 
LINA, HIS VIEWS JEFFERSON DAVIS, HOW THE AUTHOR 

MET HIM '^'^BEAU" HICKMAN — EVENING WITH PRESI- 
DENT GRANT AT THE WHITE HOUSE. 

Major General George G. Meade 

A short time after the decisive battle of Gettysburg, to 
wit : immediately upon the assembling- of Congress, my 
father was called upon in Washington by his old-time 
friend, Gen. George G. Meade, U. S. A., who had been 
the general in command of the Federal troops at that battle, 

210 



Sketches and State Secrets 



and was at the time still in command of the Army of the 
Potomac. After the exchange of the usual salutations, the 
general, wearing a troubled and anxious look, said he 
desired to converse in private with him, whereupon I with- 
drew. 

General Meade was a gentleman of the old school, every 
inch the soldier, cultured and scholarly, with a classical face ; 
simple and unaffected, decidedly aristocratic in bearing. He 
previously had been a resident of my native city, where he 
was stationed as an officer of the Engineer Corps. 

The general remained closeted a couple of hours or more 
and took his leave, shaking hands with much warmth and 
concealing his agitation with great apparent difficulty. 
After he had gone I presumed upon my confidential rela- 
tions as son and secretary, to inquire what it was that had 
so agitated him as to cause his sobs and voice to be heard 
in the adjoining room. The reply was that the general had 
called to enlist my father's kindly aid to forestall and pre- 
vent an attempt, as he charged, then being made by Gen. 
Daniel E. Sickles and his admiring friends to have Meade 
removed from the command of the Army of the Potomac, 
and replace him with Sickles, on the ground that the latter 
officer was really entitled to the credit of the victory on that 
field, as he had begun the battle and forced the fighting, 
notwithstanding Meade had already ordered a retreat. 
Such was the claim put forth by Sickles, he said, and that 
it was false ; that he had not ordered a retreat ; that he had 
done the best he knew how ; that he did not profess to be a 
great soldier, but was ready, as he had always been, to lay 
down his life for his country. He explained the whole plan 
and action of that battle in general outline to my father, 
who himself having a decided taste for military affairs, and 
being familiar with the history of most of the great battles 
of the world, as well as being the second member _of^ the— l^-^ 
Committee on Military Affairs of the Senate, was in a posi- 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



tion to comprehend and appreciate General Meade's story 
from his own lips. He assured the General that he should 
be defended in any attempt to remove or disgrace him. 
General Meade was not displaced from his high position. 

Major General Daniel E. Sickles 

The mention of the name of General Sickles — who, with 
Gen. John A. Logan, formed the two most distinguished 
volunteer officers of the Federal army — recalls a little inci- 
dent worth mentioning, connected with Sickles' confirma- 
tion as a major general, as related to me by my father. 
His name had been sent to the Senate by President Lincoln 
for confirmation to this high position. Following the usual 
custom, it was referred to the Committee on Military 
Affairs, which was composed of seven members. At a full 
meeting of the committee the subject was discussed, pro 
and con, until it looked as if his name was going to be 
rejected. Whereupon my father, with his usual judicial dis- 
crimination and love of fair play, suggested that General 
Sickles be allowed to appear before the committee and plead 
his own case, so that its members could personally see and 
judge him. This action was adopted, and shortly that gen- 
tleman and brave soldier made his appearance from an ante- 
room, where he had been awaiting action. As my father 
told it, he expected to see a red-shirted, short-haired, red- 
faced, bloated. New York rowdy, and what was his surprise 
to behold one of the most courtly, gallant, modest, high-bred 
gentleman he had ever met. His language was that of the 
scholar, chaste, and refined. After he had spoken and 
politely withdrawn, my father's vote decided the question, 
and the favorable report made by the committee was the 
means of confirming him major general. 




ROBERT C. SCHENCK, M. C, OF OHIO 

EX-MAJOR GENERAL U. S. VOLS. ; LATER, U. S. MINISTER TO 

GREAT BRITAIN 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



General Kilpatrick — His Hospitality, etc. 

During the winter of '6y'^, the Army of the Potomac lay 
in camp in winter quarters, with the Second Army Corps 
and Gens. Judson Kilpatrick and George A. Custer's 
cavalry corps also, near the Rappahannock River. Kilpatrick 
was eager to be confirmed as a full major general. His 
headquarters were in a large frame house near Brandy 
Station, and but a few miles distant from Culpeper Court 
House, Va. In order to ingratiate himself with the sena- 
tors, he extended a large number of invitations to them 
and their families to pay his headquarters a visit and witness 
a general review of the Second Army Corps. Many 
accepted, of whom this relator was one. Quite a trainload 
started, properly guarded, and in due time we were de- 
posited at Brandy Station. Kilpatrick was happy, and as 
active as a flea and almost as ubiquitous. Wines, liquors, 
and eatables were in profusion. His hospitality was un- 
bounded. He was a little man, with loud, swaggering voice, 
full of fun and profanity, florid face, square, prognathous 
jaw, firm, large mouth, prominent Roman nose, quick, deep- 
set, piercing, fearless gray eyes, full, square forehead, large 
round head, large ears, dark, thin, and short hair 

The guests were domiciled at different quarters. I had 
the good fortune to be invited to share two mattresses in 
common with eight jolly good fellows who were staff offi- 
cers and newspaper correspondents. Our bedstead was the 
floor of the attic, which had been badly damaged by a 
cannon ball fired from a battery previous to Kilpatrick's 
taking possession. The ball had struck the attic just above 
the floor and then descended through the latter, making a 
large hole which had been temporarily and loosely boarded 
over in the attic, and the hole through the ceiling in the 
room below had been pasted over with ordinary newspaper. 
After a most enjoyable evening spent in dancing and music 

214 



Sketches and State Secrets 



and an extemporized negro minstrel performance by the 
officers, feasting and smoking, taps were sounded. In com- 
mon with my mess we ascended to the attic, not, however, 
entirely satisfied with the fun so far — it was truly a god- 
send to those weary winter-bound officers to have a few 
civilians around. After lounging quietly on our beds, en- 
joying a final smoke, our ears were delighted with the 
sweetest sound on earth to man — save the lullaby of a 
mother to her babe — the musical laughter of woman; this 
came from some of the ladies of the party, who, we dis- 
covered, were occupying a room immediately beneath our 
own roost. Silently we removed ovir shoes, as also the 
boards on the floor that covered the aperture mentioned, 
"doused the glim," quietly squatted around the hole in the 
floor, and each obeying orders, stuck our individual index 
fingers into our individual respective mouths, withdrew 
them and simultaneously wetted the paper mentioned, which 
was all that shut out our vision below. The screams of 
laughter were simply too great a temptation for our good 
manners to withstand, under the refreshing circumstances 
of the place and occasion ! Soon we had made quite a 
"rent" in the paper ceiling, and as it gradually grew larger 
by frequent applications of wet fingers, the laughter below 
suddenly ceased and our eyes were shortly ravished by see- 
ing a noted beauty of New York City in white, open-necked 
nightrobe, holding a lighted candle aloft and shedding its 
rays over her lovely face, bosom, and falling mass of golden 
hair, approach and with a mystified, innocent look, gaze 
up at the "rent" we envious Cascas had made in the paper 
ceiling "mantle" that had shielded her privacy. We were 
unquestionably bold, bad men, and I blush to record my 
baseness, but we were simply hypnotized by the Spirit of 
Mischief ! 

Out went the light in a flash, and the battle of brooms 
began, the ladies trying to stop up the hole, and we "mon- 

215 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



sters of iniquity" pushing the articles out again. At last, 
as is invariably the case, we "brutes" sued for quarter and 
pacified the ladies' demands, in letting down, by a rope, 
half a dozen pint bottles of Pommery Sec. These eight 
ladies were quartered four to a bed, and slept across side- 
wise on the beds, as they, next day, informed us. 

Review of Second Army Corps by General Meade 

The following day we were all mounted on fine saddle 
horses and started, with a bodyguard of forty cavalrymen 
as escort, to witness the grand review of the Second Army 
Corps, etc. I was the most conspicuously attired individual 
in the outfit, having, in addition to a dark civilian suit of 
clothes, my first high silk hat. Had it not been for my 
youthful appearance I might have been taken for some 
prominent civilian officer of the government, and so have 
"passed muster." 

I was mounted on a horse belonging to a foreigner — a 
staff officer — and not just liking the horse's action after I 
had ridden a few miles, mentioned my disappointment to 
that officer, who at once called up an orderly and suggested 
that I return and take another of his horses. I acceded 
and returned with the orderly, and was soon mounted on 
the back of a magnificent bay stallion with a grand sweep 
to his lope. We started after the general and party, and 
reached Culpepper Court House without overtaking them. 
As we slowly passed along through the main street of the 
little town, I suddenly realized I was under the scrutiny of 
"Billy Wilson's Bowery Zouaves." I was saluted with 
much mirth: "How are you. Plug?" etc. But with slight 
urging of my steed, I escaped without any other "wounds." 
How I did wish I could have exchanged that "blamed plug" 
for a military hat! 

216 



Sketches and State Secrets 



I had soon caught up with General Kilpatrick's party, 
and in due time we were all stationed on the reviewing field. 
The troops were duly aligned. Here, great parks of artil- 
lery, with shining guns on their carriages, and blue-coated, 
red-striped soldiers seated on the caissons, the officers 
brilliantly uniformed in dark blue, red, and gold, mounted 
upon splendid horses ; next were squadrons of cavalry, the 
men in light blue with yellow trimmings, all mounted, and 
several thousand strong, with shining sabers and carbines ; 
last, the grim, bronzed infantry, in dark blue uniforms and 
slouch hats, composing all kinds of foot soldiers, and ex- 
tending a long distance. All these troops stood facing the 
commanding officer. Major General Meade, surrounded 
with his large staff in glittering and gorgeous uniforms. 
The day was perfect in temperature; the scene most 
memorable. 

General Kilpatrick and our party were quietly resting in 
saddle in the rear of the cavalry, when he suddenly put 
spurs to his horse and dashed off with the rest of us at his 
heels, in the direction of the spot occupied by Meade. Away 
we galloped fast and furious. The staff escorted the ladies 
of the party, some of whom were natives of Kentucky, and, 
of course, therefore, superb mounts, while a noted corre- 
spondent of a New York paper and myself followed close 
in the rear of several other civilians, the most conspicuous 
of whom was. Senator Wilkinson, of Minnesota — with the 
exception, perhaps, of myself, by reason of my being the 
only individual on that entire vast field with a high silk hat 
upon my head. On we sped like the wind, until to my sud- 
den amazement I beheld Kilpatrick and the entire party in 
my front leaping their horses over an immense ditch which 
had at first looked to me about forty rods wide, but was 
really about a dozen feet across. I prided myself on my 
skill in horsemanship, but had never tried to jump a horse 
over a ditch or anything else. Acting on my first impulse 

217 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



of self-preservation, I reined in my steed and quickly turn- 
ing to my companion, said, I could not jump that ditch; he 
quietly said I must or be disgraced. I had no spurs on, but 
quickly gave the horse his head, drove my heels at his 
sides, and with a few more bounds he arose beautifully and 
bore me gallantly over the ditch, landing me safely on the 
further side. But horribile dictu, his rider cut a most sorry 
and ludicrous figure, and that, too, under the critical eyes of 
thousands of brave boys in blue. The moment my noble 
steed struck the ground, my feet struck out of the stirrups 
and up into the air, my corporosity also arose from the sad- 
dle and without ceremony as quickly returned thereto, my 
poor "Dunlap" plug, which, with my black suit had become 
a nice reddish brown, owing to the color of Virginia dust, 
arose of its own motion, and in order to expose the chagrin 
upon my distressed and beardless face, retreated to the back 
part of my head where it hung! The breath also left my 
lungs. I reined up this time "for keeps," and with my kind 
newspaper friend, we turned to one side so as to get out of 
the way of the fast following bodyguard. 

A Humiliating Position 

Of course, the soldiers in close proximity set up a laugh 
but no violent ebullition of hilarity at my expense was 
indulged in for fear of punishment due to strict discipline, 
or to my presumed importance. 

As we were resting I was approached by a young fellow, 
on a little bit of a yellow nag, who came up smiling and 
addressed me by my christian name,with the remark, "Hello, 
don't you know me? I used to go to skule with you at 
the Barstow skule." Horror of horrors ! And I was recog- 
nized, too ! I was reminded of the story of old Senator 
Tiffin, of Ohio, who migrated from Connecticut to that state. 
He was attending a public reception in Washington 

218 




SPEAKER SCHUYLER COLFAX^ M. C, OF INDIANA 
LATER, VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES 



Civil- WAR Echoes — Character 



shortly after his term as senator began, and was approached 
by an old crank townsman of his native village, who 
familiarly slapped the senator on the shoulder by way of 
greeting. The senator turned and rebuked the boor, where- 
upon the latter retorted : "I knew you, Tiffin, when you was 
driv outen town on account of your infidelity;" To which 
the little, pipe-voice senator replied: "Jones, I knew you 
twenty-five years ago ; you were a damphule then, and you 
haven't changed any since." 

Had I used such a retort I might have fared as did the 
newly-elected Senator Roscoe Conkling on one occasion, 
when, in passing the Metropolitan Hotel, on Pennsylvania 
Avenue, in Washington, he was accosted by Senator William 
Pitt Kellogg, than a "carpet-bag senator" from Louisiana, 
and with whom I was tolerably well acquainted. Kellogg 
joined Conkling by slapping him on the shoulder and say- 
ing: "How are you, Conkling, any how?" 

To which unheard-of-act of tresspass upon the person of 
that majestic senator, the latter responded with great 
gravity : "I am Senator Conkling, of New York, sir," elicit- 
ing from Kellogg the response : "The hell you say ; I'm Bill 
Kellogg, of Louisiana." 

To resume my narrative, I was soon in the midst of 
General Meade's little party, composed of General Kil- 
patrick's guests also. General Meade received me, I 
thought, with a special kindly consideration on accountof my 
father's friendship for him. Soon the maneuvers and reviews 
began. I have no knowledge of military aflfairs or army ma- 
neuvering. It must be described briefly and in terms of the 
layman. The cannon were unlimbered, deployed hither and 
yon, battery after battery galloped up the hill and then down ; 
the air was filled with loud commands of officers, and with 
imaginary cannon balls; batteries were massed, and excite- 
ment generally seemed to be let loose. The cannon were not 

220 



Sketches and State Secrets 



fired ; simply the motions of loading and firing were gone 
through. Then, after a while, there seemed to be perfect 
order restored, and the batteries marched in stately time by 
the place where General Meade's headquarters for review- 
ing had been fixed. 

Next came a charge of several thousand cavalry, at the 
head of which rode the redoubtable Kilpatrick. (General 
Custer was away on leave of absence, I think, in the north.) 
Great Csesar ! What a thrilling sight that was to a young, 
peaceful collegian who had never before seen anything more 
formidable than football and baseball ! With sabers all 
drawn and carbines dangling by the side, and beginning with 
a slow, forward movement, the skirmishers out in advance 
on the front and sides, the buglers at intervals sounding the 
orders in silvery, clear, high notes, the pace quickening as 
the squadrons approach the hill, the skirmishers gradually 
drawing in closer and closer to the main body. At last the 
buglers sound the charge, and with one mighty shout, the 
glittering sabers held high up in the flashing sunlight, every 
man rising in his stirrups, the vast column rushes on like a 
mighty river that has overflown its banks and sweeps every- 
thing before it. That sight stirs our blood the most of all. 

With one accord we all, ladies and gentlemen, hurrah. 
Up the hillside they sweep, yelling and flashing sabers, over 
the brow, and then down. It seems as if nothing could stop 
those reckless, brave, death-dealing troopers and their 
horses. 

Colonel Dahlgren; His Attempt to Capture Richmond 

At last the cavalry pass by in front of us. I recognize 
many a brave fellow. Who is that exceedingly young-look- 
ing colonel, with just a little down upon his face, about my 
own age? He is mounted upon a magnificent coal-black 
stallion. He is Colonel Dahlgren, who has already lost his 
right leg below the knee. He is a son of Admiral Dahlgren. 



C I V I L - w A R Echoes — Character 



He blushes like a school girl when I talk with him. In a 
few weeks after this review he sought and obtained permis- 
sion to lead an attack, with only fifteen hundred cavalrymen, 
upon Richmond, being confident he, alone, with this handful 
of men could capture that city which had already baffled the 
attempts of older soldiers. He believed all the fighters were 
drawn away to the front and that he could easily whip the 
home guard of old and sick men and boys. Alas ! that he 
should have been allowed to undertake this task in which he 
offered up his noble young life as a sacrifice for his country ! 
Gladly do I pay this humble tribute to his memory. 

Last of all moves the infantry in all the several move- 
ments known to the military tactician. Skirmishers, sharp- 
shooters, sappers, and miners, attack and repulse, charge 
and retreat, until at last the vast mass charges forward on 
the double quick up the hill, over it, and down. 

The scene was to me indescribably grand, as showing 
what an incomparable instrument of destruction is an 
aggregate mass of disciplined humanity. After these 
maneuvering scenes came the stately review of the several 
arms of the service, passing by in front of General Meade 
and staff. 

The following evening we all attended a ball given by 
the oflScers of the Second Army Corps in a newly-erected 
large wooden pavilion. I had the honor of opening the 
first dance in the leading set with General Meade as my 
vis-a-vis, my partner being the blonde young lady men- 
tioned above, who had so innocently presented herself in 
her robe de nuit the previous evening. 

The dancing continued till long into the morning. The 
following day found our entire party back in the most 
charming city in the United States — the city of Washing- 
ton, noted equally for its delightful society and its world- 
renowned attractions. 




SPEAKER JAMES G. BLAINE, M. C, OF MAINE 
LATER, U. S. SENATOR FROM MAINE ; REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE 

PRESIDENT 



FOR 



Sketches and State Secrets 



Hon. James G. Blaine — His Indiscreetness 

One Sunday evening in the year 186-, while the rain 
was pouring down, and after the hour of ten had struck, 
as I was reading to my father, as was my custom, the door 
bell rang and the servant soon handed him a card, upon 
sight of which he told the boy to show the gentleman in 
where we were seated in the back parlor. In a moment. 
Speaker James G. Blaine entered, having removed his 
mackintosh. He apologized for the lateness of the call, but 
attributed it to the pressing importance of the business. 
His manner was slightly brusque, but, of course, perfectly 
respectful. 

As already stated in these pages, my father was chairman 
of the Committee on Pacific Railroads, a position to which 
he was assigned by the Senate on account of his well-known 
incorruptability and legal attainments. At the time of this 
call of Mr. Blaine, there was pending before that commit- 
tee, referred to it by the Senate, a bill to aid Gen. John 
C. Fremont and others in the construction of a railroad by 
a corporation bearing the high sounding title of "The 
Memphis, El Paso, Transcontinental, Pacific Railway Com- 
pany," of which that gentleman was leading incorporator. 
Fremont, his secretary, named L'Espignol, and the former's 
brother-in-law, had almost flooded the small moneyed 
classes in Paris, France, with circulars, pamphlets, and 
maps, outrageously distorting the physical geography of 
the United States to serve their purposes and setting forth 
grossly untruthful statements, and had received thousands 
of dollars for bonds utterly worthless, as they were based 
upon a railroad not yet in existence, but wholly in 
expectancy ! 

Minister Elihu B. Washburne, at Paris, had sent my 
father copies of all these documents, and had also written 
full particulars of the swindling operations of these gentle- 

224 




U. S. SENATOR WILLIAM SPRAGUE, RHODE ISLAND 
EX-GOVERNOR OF RHODE ISLAND 



i6 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



men. General Fremont's brother-in-law was imprisoned 
for his share in the cheat. Fremont and his secretary had 
made a hasty retreat to this country and were now before 
Congress with the bill mentioned. 

My father had openly stated his opposition to the bill, 
and it was well-known he would deliver a speech in the 
Senate against it. This was the cause of Speaker Blaine's 
urgent call that night upon him. He plead and urged a 
great many reasons why my father should withdraw his 
opposition — in the interest of the Republican party — and 
all this in the face of the terrible exposure which was given 
from Washbume's letters, etc. Mr. Blaine was possessed 
of great persuasive powers and political astuteness, but his 
attempts to seduce my father by argument or indirect 
promises of political preferment were, of course, in vain. 
He finally took his leave after two hours' interview, and in 
a somewhat threatening manner, quite different from that 
on his entrance. When the bill subsequently came up in 
the Senate for debate, my father delivered a masterly argu- 
ment against it, but he mustered only seven Republican 
votes, together with the Democratic votes. Republican 
leaders like Sumner, Nye, and others became frightened, 
and for the sake of party, as Blaine had urged, also de- 
fended Fremont. The bill died, however, in the House. I 
mention this incident as to Blaine to show his somewhat 
impulsive indiscreetness and strong partisanship, traits that 
caused him much trouble. I do not intend to attribute this 
call to corrupt motives. 

Edwin M. Stanton 

One Sunday afternoon, not long after the close of the 
"War of the Rebellion," my father and self were strolling 
slowly along Pennsylvania avenue in front of the White 
House when our attention was attracted to an old rattle- 

226 



Sketches and State Secrets 



trap of a hack overtaking us, and being driven up to the 
curb. Edwin M. Stanton, the great Secretary of War, was 
alone inside. He opened the door and asked us to get in, 
which we did. The hack was then driven directly to the 
old war department building, but a short distance away. 

Stanton said he wanted "somebody of sense" to talk to 
on an important matter. He was quite cordial with me, 
and asked if I had met his son, Edwin ; I replied that I had, 
and esteemed him Highly. When we were ensconced in 
the secretary's inner office, he produced, out of a locker, 
a bottle of old sherry wine and some glasses. After he had 
drank a glass of wine, Mr. Stanton's tongue was entirely 
loosened, especially upon the subject then uppermost in 
his mind, to wit: the ruthless invasion of Mexico by the 
troops of Napoleon HI, and the attempted establishment of 
Maximiljian upon the throne there. He was exceedingly 
vehement in his language of denunciation of Napoleon, and 
fairly made the air blue and sulphurous with his fearful 
oaths. It was an explosion of profanity that far outstripped 
old Senator Ben Wade in his palmiest hour. I saw in this 
great man's intensity of feeling the secret of his great 
strength, and his quenchless patriotism and love of liberty 
that led him practically, by overwork, to lay down his Ufe 
for his country. It was the same spirit that induced him 
afterward to defy President Johnson's order for his 
removal in the face of the "Tenure of Office Act," enacted 
by Congress for Stanton's especial benefit, as well as from 
a nervous distrust of Johnson's entire loyalty, and to remain 
in the office of Secretary of War in the War Department 
building, night and day, and finally resulting in the great 
impeachment trial of that President. Edwin M. Stanton 
loved this Union as much and gave up his life as effectually 
as any brave soldier did who died on the field of battle. 

He said he had got Gen. Phil. Sheridan down on the 
border of Texas with an army having in the neighborhood 

227 



C I V I L - w A R Echoes — Character 



of fifty thousand troops, and at the first opportunity he 

was going to start him into Mexico and "drive those 

Frenchmen down into the sea and drown them like a lot of 
blind pups !" I thought his language extravagant and vio- 
lent, but his feelings were intense, and it gave me an oppor- 
tunity to study the character of the greatest war secretary of 
all time when he was not upon his guard. He was rather 
short and stout ; thick neck, large head, high, full forehead, 
dark complexion, dark hair and beard, spectacles on his 
nose, quick and decisive in his walk and movements 
generally. 

I recall a little account, as related to me by my father, 
given him by Mr. Stanton privately. During the period 
of the latter's enforced seclusion in the War Department, 
caused by President Johnson's attempt to remove him from 
office, Stanton was daily informed of what was going on in 
the White House. His source of information was an army 
official who stood very close to the President by virtue of 
his assignment to special duty by him. This officer owed 
his appointment originally in the army to the act of Secre- 
tary Stanton, and ever retained first and true loyalty to him 
as a consequence. He lost no opportunity of advising Stan- 
ton of the plans and pitfalls for his overthrow that were 
hatched in the Executive Mansion. He was really an 
invaluable spy acting in Stanton's, and, therefore, the 
Nation's interest. I dare not publish some of the things 
disclosed by this officer to Secretary Stanton and by the 
latter to my father, who told them to me. With the knowl- 
edge thus obtained by Stanton, it is not to be wondered at 
that he distrusted Johnson's loyalty, and that he persisted in 
following Senator Sumner's advice to "stick" to his post. 
The acts of debauchery and violation of the moral code per- 
petrated under the roof of the White House by Andrew 
Johnson, as disclosed by this officer mentioned, in private 
to Mr. Stanton, if published to the world even at this day, 

228 



Sketches and State Secret 



would cause the people of the United States to hang their 
heads with shame. Out of regard for the honor of the 
White House I forbear to publish these "state secrets." I 
content myself with simply this hint. 

An interesting incident illustrating Mr. Stanton's char- 
acter may be added here. It arose from my father's first 
official call upon him at the War Department. He called 
to request a reopening of the case of Col. Orlando M. 
Moore, who had been summarily dismissed from the army. 
The colonel was the hero of the battle of "Tebb's Bend," 
where, with a mere handful of three hundred men, he 
defeated Gen. John Morgan with five thousand troops 
in his raid toward Cincinnati. Stanton was exceedingly 
brusque, and asked finally what my father proposed to do 
about it ; to which the latter replied that he, Stanton, would 
probably see very soon, and abruptly left the room. He had 
not reached the outer door of the department, down stairs, 
before he was recalled by an orderly sent by the secretary. 
On his reluctant return he was asked by the latter what 
he wanted done, to which was replied : "A restoration to 
the army, of this brave soldier," whereupon Stanton said, 
"Well, make out the order," to which my father replied, "I 
prefer you to make it out, sir." It was done speedily. This 
little episode was the beginning of a close friendship that 
lasted till death severed it. I subsequently met Colonel 
Moore at Fort Abraham Lincoln, North Dakota, and 
heard from his lips a modest account of his memorable en- 
counter with the most dashing raider of the Confederate 
army. The colonel exhibited the identical bugle which he 
used personally to deceive Morgan by sounding calls in 
different parts of the forest in rapid succession as he 
dashed, horseback, around through them. 

This bugle, together with skillful maneuvering of skir- 
mishers, made Morgan think the Federal troops were much 
larger in numbers than they were, and so he deflected his 

229 



Civil War Echoes — Character Sketches 



course from the city of Cincinnati and returned south ; thus, 
that city was saved from being sacked and burned or 
plundered. 

The two following reported interviews are presented 
without apologies: 

Stanton's Courage 

The circumstances under which Mr. Stanton became a member 
of the Buchanan cabinet and the work he did there for the Union 
are not told fully in the biographies. A brother-in-law of Mr. Stan- 
ton, Mr. Walcott, is the authority given for the story about to be 
told, every word of which is believed in Steubenville. At the time 
Mr. Stanton, then a lifelong Democrat, was asked to become a mem- 
ber of it, the Buchanan cabinet was composed of Cass, in the State 
Department ; Cobb, in the Treasury ; Black, as Attorney General ; 
Thompson, in the Interior Department; Floyd, as Secretary of War; 
Toucey, as Secretary of the Navy, and Holt as Postmaster General. 

"In this cabinet," to use the words of one who was the friend of 
Stanton from boyhood, "there were traitors, both active and passive. 
Buchanan was not a traitor himself, but a weak, irresolute old man, 
bound hand and foot by those in his cabinet who were. Floyd had 
dispersed the army to different and distant points, so as to make it 
unavailable at the capital. Toucey had scattered the navy to dif- 
ferent and distant parts of the world, so that it could not be col- 
lected for months. Thompson had stolen more than $1,000,000 in 
Indian bonds. Cobb had the treasury empty and the rebels were in 
arms. The signs of the times were appalling. Cass saw nothing 
before him but political ruin. He resigned his office, and Black was 
appointed in his place, leaving the law department of the govern- 
ment vacant. In addition to other causes of alarm Floyd had at- 
tempted to ship all of the heavy ordnance at Pittsburg to the south, 
and was only checked by the uprising of the people, who sent a 
deputation to Washington to inform the President and to enter their 
protest against the movement. 

"In this extremity President Buchanan sent for Mr. Stanton, and 
asked him what he thought about the signs of the times. The answer 
was characteristic : 

" 'You are sleeping on a volcano. The grovmd is mined all around 
and under you and ready to explode, and without prompt and ener- 
getic action, you will be the last President of the United States.' 

" 'Mr. Stanton,' said the feeble old man, 'for God's sake, come in 
and help me. The Attorney General's office is vacant. Will you 
accept it?" 

" 'If you desire my help I will,' was the reply." 

230 



Sketches and State Secrets 



This is the story of Mr. Stanton's invitation to enter the cabinet, 
as it comes from an immediate relative. There is no reason to 
doubt that it is told practically as it was given in family confidence 
by Mr. Stanton himself. The same applies to the account of what 
took place after he entered the cabinet : 

"The lirst day of Mr. Stanton's incumbency of the ofifice of Attor- 
ney General he passed in ferreting out the grand larceny of Thomp- 
son on the Indian fund. When the cabinet met in the evening, Mr. 
Stanton was late in arriving. As the new Attorney General entered, 
he saw Floyd pacing the room, and gesticulating furiously in a tem- 
pest and whirlwind of speech against somebody who had cut down 
his flagstaff, broken off the trunnions of his guns and cut and burned 
his wheels, and so on. Mr. Stanton sat down without uttering a 
word and without pretending to understand what was up. When 
Floyd stopped somebody asked : 

" 'What do you think about it, Mr. Attorney General ?' 

'"About what?' said Mr. Stanton. 

"'About Major Anderson's breaking up camp at Fort Moultrie 
and going into Fort Sumter.' 

" 'The most glorious event since the 8th of January, 1815,' answered 
the new member of the cabinet. 'It has stirred the heart of every 
loyal man in the nation.' 

" 'What !' demanded Floyd, 'an officer of the army violating his 
orders?' 

" 'What orders ?' retorted Stanton. 'Did you, Mr. President, give 
orders to Major Anderson to remain in that old, dilapidated fort, 
surrounded by enemies, when a stronger one was available?' 

" 'No,' said Mr. Buchanan, 'I gave no such orders.' 

" 'Did you know of any such orders being given ?' Mr. Stanton 
asked. 

" 'No, sir. I never heard of it before,' said the President. 

" 'Then,' said Mr. Sta»nton, 'the man who gave such orders ought 
to be hanged on a gallows higher than Haman's.' 

"Here Secretary Thompson interposed to rebuke the insolence 
of so new a man in the cabinet. 

" 'Mr. Thompson,' said Mr. Stanton, in reply, 'I have been here 
long enough to find out that you have stolen nearly a million of 
Indian bonds, and expect to stay here till I see you punished for it.' 

"Then the tempest rose and raged till midnight, when the meet- 
ing broke up. The next morning Cobb, Floyd, and Thompson re- 
signed. In a single night Stanton broke the conspiracy in the cabinet 
which was killing his feeble old friend. There were now two honest 
men in the cabinet — Stanton and Holt. Through their influence, 
Gen. John A. Dix was put at the head of the treasury. 

" 'There is a reason to believe, and I for one do believe,' said the 
friend here quoted, 'that but for the bold stand taken by Mr. Stanton 
on that memorable evening Mr. Lincoln never would have been in- 
augurated in Washington. The knives of the assassins were already 

231 




U. S. SENATOR RICHARD YATES, ILLINOIS 
EX-GOVERNOR OF ILLINOIS 



Sketches and State Secrets 



whetted, and he would inevitably have been murdered. But the 
active traitors being driven from the cabinet, General Scott collected 
a few soldiers and marines, to the number of about one thousand, 
and secured the peaceful inauguration of the new President.' 

"When the Buchanan cabinet dissolved, Stanton went back to his 
law practise. Nine months later Mr. Lincoln sent for him and asked 
him to be his Secretary of War. He defended his action on the 
ground that he wanted Stanton not for his politics, but for his 
patriotism and power. — St. Louis Globe-Democrat. 



Knew Stanton Well 

"The first time I was in Washington was in 1863, and I spent 
about six months as clerk in the War Department," said A. D. 
Sharon, one of California's multi-millionaires and the owner and 
proprietor of San Francisco's famous Palace Hotel, to a Star re- 
porter at the Normandie. "I came at the suggestion of my dear 
friend and law preceptor, Edwin M. Stanton, who was then Secre- 
tary of War. I don't recall that I did any work during the six 
months, and I finally became disgusted and threw up the position. 

"My relations with Stanton? It would take a volume to tell them, 
and then I don't know that they would be of any great interest. 
Stanton was one of the first persons I ever knew. He was much 
older, but there was always a feeling between us akin to that of 
brothers. And for a few years of his life he was practically a 
brother. That is, he lived in my father's family and was one of 
the family. 

TAKEN BY SHARON, SENIOR 

"I've heard my father tell the story and I have heard Stanton 
himself relate it many a time. My father was a prosperous farmer 
in Smithfield township, Jefferson County, Ohio. He was drawn as 
a grand juror. He was leaving the old Steubenville court house 
at the close of the jury session when he was attracted to a little 
fellow, nine of ten years old, whose boots were out at the toes, and 
who was shivering with the cold that easily penetrated his ragged 
clothes. 

" 'What's your name ?' father asked him. 

" 'Ed. Stanton,' was the ready response. 

" 'Well, come along with me,' said father, and they went over to 
May's store on Second Street, where the boy was fitted out with a 
new pair of boots. A superficial inspection disclosed to father the 
importance of the lad's having a new suit of clothes, and they were 
provided. Then father asked him where he lived. 

" 'Around on Third Street, sir,' the boy replied. 

" 'So father accompanied the lad around to his home, and there 
met his mother. 

233 



C I V I L - w A R Echoes — Character 



_" 'Mrs. Stanton,' he said, 'I want that boy. If you will let me have 
him until he is fifteen years old, I will learn him to plow, sow, reap, 
and mow, and I will clothe him and give him four months' school- 
ing each year.' 

"Father always considered plowing, sowing, reaping, and mowing 
the four great requisites of life. 

" 'Mr. Sharon,' said Mrs. Stanton, 'I wish you would take Ed. 
He is a good boy, and I know that you will do more for him than 
I can do.' 

"Mrs. Stanton was in poor circumstances and she looked upon this 
opportunity for Ed. as a God-send. To make a long story short, the 
youngster came into our family down in Smithfield township and 
father did by him as he agreed. He laid the foundation for his great 
mind in the little district school and he became proficient as a farmer 
lad. So that was the reason Edwin M. Stanton and I were such 
friends. 

Stanton's visit to steubenville 

"But I was going to tell you how I happened to come to Wash- 
ington. I had been out in the 157th Ohio Regiment under Col. George 
McCook, one of the 'fighting McCooks,' and Stanton's law partner. 
The judge of the common pleas court in Jefferson County had died 
and Governor Brough had appointed me to fill the vacancy. I served 
several months, until an election could be held, and was very glad 
to retire. I was only twenty-one years old, and was no more capable 
of administering the law than a cow. You know, a boy of that age 
doesn't do much thinking. I had just gone into partnership with 
a couple of legal friends under the firm name of Miller, Sherrard & 
Sharon. One day the office door opened and who should come in 
but Stanton. He shook hands all around, wanted to know how 
everything was in Steubenville, and then turned to me and said : 

" 'I want you to go across the river with me.' 

" 'All right,' I replied. 

"I put on my hat and we started out. On the way down stairs 
he placed his hand on my shoulder and said : 

" 'This is a glorious day, and I want to go over across to the hills, 
and I want you with me.' 

"I assured him that I was pleased to accompany him. He had 
just gotten in from Washington. I recall him as he looked, clad in 
a linen duster, a garment that was much more in evidence a third of 
a century ago than at the present time. We walked down the street, 
stopping frequently for Stanton to grasp the hand of some old ac- 
quaintance or friend. I went into a store, while Stanton waited 
outside talking with some one of the town folk, and bought fifteen 
cents' worth of ginger cakes — ginger snaps, we used to call them. 

"We then proceeded down to the ferry. Hardly a word was said 
while going across. We climbed up the rocks together, occasionally 
slipping back a little, but finally reaching a point that to Stanton 

234 



Sketches and State Secrets 



seemed congenial. A beautiful place it is across the river from 
Steubenville. You get a view of the country for miles, and particu- 
larly the Ohio River Valley above and below. 

A SILENT MAN 

"It was about eleven o'clock when we reached this delightful place. 
Stanton sat down on a rock and for several hours was in deep 
thought. He stroked his long whiskers time and again and now and 
then rubbed his temples, suggesting to me that he was struggling 
with some abstruse mental proposition, which doubtless he was. He 
was uncommunicative and I was independent. I said to myself, 
'Old fellow, if you don't want to talk I won't force a conversation.' 

"I got up and walked about, but at all times was within speaking 
distance. Now and then I came back and sat down, but not a word 
from Stanton. He still maintained his position on the rock. And 
he pulled away at his whiskers with a pertinacity that attracted my 
attention to the utmost. Finally, about the middle of the afternoon, 
he broke the silence by saying : 

"'Don't you think it's pretty near time we were getting back?' 

"I told him I was ready at any time ; that I was with him to go 
at his convenience. 

" 'But,' said I, 'don't you think it's pretty near time that we were 
eating our ginger snaps?" 

" 'I had forgotten all about them,' he said. 'I guess you are right.' 

"So I opened the bag and we sat there knd ate our lunch, I was as 
hungry as a bear, and Stanton proved that he had not entirely lost 
his appetite. On the way back he said to me : 

" 'Why don't you come to Washington ?' 

"I told him I had never given the matter any thought. 

" 'I don't know what I would do there,' I said. 

" 'I'll give you a place in the War Department,' he replied. 

" 'But,' I continued, 'it takes money to get to Washington and to 
get started. I am not in a condition at present to consider going 
anywhere.' 

"Without a word he went down into his vest pocket, and, count- 
ing off from a roll of bills, handed me one hundred dollars. 

" 'I want you to come to Washington, and I want you to promise 
me that you will do so,' he said, after a silence of a few minutes . 

EASY WORK AS A CLERK 

"I told him I would, and I did. I went on to Washington, and 
was duly installed as a clerk in the War Department. But, as I told 
you before, I never did any work. Stanton's son Fred was also a 
clerk. I used to report to the department every day. Stanton would 
usually say : 

235 



Civil-war Echoes — Characte 



'"Why don't you and Fred go fishing down on the Potomac?' 

"And at that we would start off for a day's sport. The next day, 
when we reported for work, he was likely to say: 

" 'Well, you boys didn't seem to have very good luck yesterday. 
Better go down and see if you can't redeem yourselves.' 

"And if we had been successful, he would suggest that we go back 
and fish to keep up our reputation. And that's the way it went. I 
can see now what he wanted. He was friendly to me and wanted 
me to have a good time. There was no especial work he wanted of 
me ; only to see me occasionally. Yes, Fred and I put in a pleasant 
summer and fall. But it finally become tiresome, and I threw up 
the position and went back to Steubenville, where I practised law 
until the early 70's.. 

"Edwin M. Stanton was one of the greatest men that this country 
ever produced. He was a fine-grained man ; sensitive to the extreme. 
And his whole soul was given over to the one thought — the preser- 
vation and maintenance of the Union. A great many persons thought 
him cold and unsympathetic. He was as kind-hearted and sym- 
pathetic as Lincoln, but he knew that there were times that things 
must be ruled with an iron hand. 

KILLED BEFORE HIS TIME 

"I went to the White House with him one day and I heard him 
talk to Mr. Lincoln as few men would think of talking to an em- 
ployer. 'What we must do,' was the basis of his talk, and it was 
said with emphasis. Yet tears were in his eyes when he turned and 
left the President. If Lincoln had lived, I positively believe that 
Stanton would have lived longer than he did. President Johnson's 
attitude toward him, and treatment of him practically killed him be- 
fore his time." 

Mr. Sharon is a cousin of ex-Senator Sharon, and was his partner 
in business. He has been a resident of California for more than a 
quarter of a century. He is also a cousin of Senator Clark of 
Montana. 

"Yes, Bill Clark and I are cousins," Mr. Sharon said. "And do 
you know, when Clark bought the Verde mine he came to me and 
wanted me to go in with him. 

" 'I can buy the mine for twenty-seven thousand dollars, and I 
would like to have you take half,' he said. 

" 'No, Bill,' said I, 'you'd better go it alone.' And since then I 
knew that at one time he was offered twenty-seven million for the 
mine. But then, I had enough. So what's the difference." 

Mr. Sharon's present visit to Washington was in the interest of 
having the government purchase a park in California, in which are 
located some of the biggest trees in the world. — The Washington 
Star. 

236 



Sketches and State Secrets 



"Hancock, the Superb f Across the Plains 

In tHe early summer of 1867, before Congress adjourned, 
my father received an invitation for us both from Mr. John 
D. Perry, of St. Louis, Mo., then president of the Union 
Pacific Railway Company, E. D. (previously known as 
the Kansas Pacific Railway Company), to participate in an 
excursion over the completed line of that road in Kansas, 
in company with other guests. 

In accordance with his strict rule of conduct as chairman 
of the Senate Committee on Pacific Railroads, not to seek 
or accept any favors of railroads, indebted in whole or in 
part to government aid, he turned the invitation over to 
me, saying I could accept the invitation for myself if I 
chose. I did so, and arrived at the Southern Hotel, in St. 
Louis, in company with a young gentleman friend residing 
in my home city, whom I had taken the liberty to invite as 
a companion-du-voyage. We arrived at -that hotel on June 
2d, dressed in the height of fashion and wearing high silk 
hats. 

After reaching .our room our first act was, of course, to 
wash. Pouring out the water into the bowl, its color and 
texture appalled me. I rang up the bell boy and, showing 
him the yellow, dirty liquid, asked him if that was the very 
best the hotel could do in the way of water for a gentleman 
to wash his face in. His reply was that it was "de werrybest" 
— that "all de watah was jest like dat" — that "pussons likes it 
cause it was so — sawft!" I at once surrendered to the 
inevitable. I have no recollection, however, of seeing my 
companion use any water for any purpose while in St. 
Louis. He was exceedingly fastidious, as will appear 
further on in this narrative. 

The following day our excursion party was mustered, 
and on its roll-call appeared the names of gentlemen who 
were then quite prominent and who since have attained 

237 




U. S. SENATOR MATTHEW H. CARPENTER, WISCONSIN 



Sketches and State Secrets 



national reputations. For the purposes of these pages, 
however, the names of a few will suffice. Hon. C. H. Van 
Wyck, M. C, from New York, afterward a senator from 
Nebraska, to which state he removed ; also a brother of his, 
an Episcopalian minister; Hon. A. H. Laflin, M. C, of 
New York, and Hon. J. L. Thomas, M. C, of Maryland; 
Mr. C. C. Beaman, Jr., clerk of Senator Sumner's Com- 
mittee on Foreign Relations, afterward law partner of 
William M. Evarts, and Mr. George Abell, son of the pro- 
prietor of the Baltimore Sun. Quite a number of invited 
ladies also accompanied us on the train, which bore us 
rapidly to the end of the track at Fort Harker. The 
larger portion of the guests returned east from this point, 
but some fifteen or more, including the above-named, ac- 
cepted a cordial invitation extended by maj. gen. w. 
s. HANCOCK, u. s. A., to accompany an expedition he was 
about to make to Denver, distant some four hundred miles 
overland by the surveyed route. He promised fine buffalo 
and antelope hunting, but carefully refrained from any allu- 
sion to Indians. 

I shall never forget the occasion when I saw, for the first 
time, and shook the hand of, this "Bayard" of the army. 
What a magnificent figure — what an ideal officer ! What a 
suave, gallant, thoroughbred air the man possessed! What 
a commanding and aflfable manner! Truly, he was "han- 

COCK^ THE superb!" 

As he stood erect and stately we were presented to him, 
in turn, by Mr. Perry, each advancing to shake his hand. 
His greeting was the perfection of manly grace. When 
introducing my friend, Mr. Perry awkwardly or rudely 

remarked: "Mr. , of whom I know nothing." My 

friend, a thorough gentleman of the highest social circles 
at home, quickly stopped, blushed, and looked down. I 
was about to go to his relief and say he was my friend, 
when at once I was forestalled by General Hancock, him- 

239 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



self, advancing and taking my friend's hand within both of 
his own, saying he was very glad to meet him and hoped 
he would join the number of his guests. It was one of the 
most courtly, well-bred acts of a gentleman I ever beheld. 

That night we camped in tents. Rain and a small Kansas 
cyclone effectually dissipated the silk tiles of my friend and 
myself. My visorless scotch cap remained and was worn 
throughout the trip. The outfit consisted of eight ambu- 
lances, twenty-six six-mule wagons, and an escort of fifty 
infantry men, and as many of the guests as chose were 
provided with saddle horses. I selected a splendid, large, 
somewhat vicious, black stallion that had never been ridden 
by man, and which had been but just purchased by the 
government. As we struck tents in the morning I secured 
a big teamster, who said he would mount the wild and 
powerful brute and break him in for me. He did so very 
well, and the following day I mounted him, by the team- 
ster's help, and holding in my right hand an immense pistol, 
joined a party of three other gentlemen, all under charge 
of Lieutenant Hunter, in a grand field day for buffalo hunt- 
ing. What sport ! At a distance of a mile or more across 
the prairie we shortly spied a herd of four old bull buffa- 
loes, that had been driven out of some larger herd by the 
younger bulls. We started for them "licka-ta-split." On 
we sped through puddles of mud and water, prairie-dog 
villages — the little, brave animals standing on top of their 
mounds and barking defiant warnings, and as we ap- 
proached scudding down into their holes that were ante- 
chambers to their underground homes — over small hills, 
until we were seen by the herd. 

Up went their tails and down their heads, and away they 
scattered in different directions. My noble steed behaved 
finely, and soon Lieutenant Hunter and I were jointly pur- 
suing an immense old fellow, each taking a pistol shot as 
we neared him. The blood was pouring from his sides as 

240 



Sketches and State Secrets 



he ran, when suddenly he stopped and faced about to show 
fight. At the same instant my horse bucked and veered to 
the left, from fright; I involuntarily grabbed the pommel 
of the saddle with my right hand which also held the big 
pistol, and in doing so fired it off, the ball just missing 
Hunter. As the big buffalo stood at bay we were joined 
by another gentleman who carried a carbine. 

He and Hunter dismounted, left their horses a few steps, 
and advanced to get better shots. As they fired, the 
ferocious look of the buffalo and the report of the guns 
frightened their two horses who turned and swiftly ran 
away. My horse was also terribly frightened, rearing and 
plunging and cavorting generally, and was unmanageable. 
As he was just broken to the saddle I gave him his head, 
shouting to my two friends that I would try and catch the 
other two horses. I succeded in getting one; the other 
was later corralled by the Indian scout who attended our 
train. 

The buffalo escaped — so did the rest of us! We rode 
that day in the chase, at a high speed, upward of twenty- 
five miles. The next day my grand typical black stallion 
was almost a wreck and had to be dragged behind a wagon. 
I was tolerably near being a wreck myself; my nose cer- 
tainly was, for the hot sun had peeled off every thing but 
the inner epidermis. Henceforth, I must be content to ride 
with the other tenderfeet in an army ambulance. 

In three days we reached Fort Hayes, and there I met 
for the first time one of America's model wives in the per- 
son of Mrs. Custer, wife of Gen. George A. Custer, 
who was absent from that post on duty somewhere else for 
the time being. She and her lady friend sat up and enter- 
tained us all most delightfully until midnight. She unites 
in her charming personality all that goes to make up 
woman attractive to a manly, chivalric man. 
17 241 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



At the end of eight days we had reached Fort Wallace, 
having fairly reveled on buffalo and antelope meat. We 
saw on the way thousands upon thousands of moving buf- 
falo. Several times we had to stop our train and allow the 
vast herds to gallop past, their great bushy heads bobbing 
up and down like waves upon the surface of an ocean. 

The last time I saw General Hancock was when we bade 
him good-bye at Fort Wallace, on the plains about two 
hundred miles east of Denver, where, having met Gen. 
Pitcairn Morrison, U. S. A., on his way east with a small 
escort of fifteen soldiers, our excursion party decided to 
return under the latter's escort. My latest view of Han- 
cock showed him in fatigue uniform, mounted upon a mag- 
nificent, immense roan stallion, a fitting steed to carry the 
most majestic figure that has ever adorned the army of the 
United States or of any other country. Readily do I recafl 
the consummate grace and superb abandon with which, on 
the trip, he would take the old gallon demijohn from the 
hands of his orderly, raise it aloft, turn it over his forearm 
by a "simple twist of the wrist" until its mouth and his 
own joined issue, followed by a gurgling sound in the throat 
and a smack of the lips that denoted entire satisfaction with 
the results of such a joint and mutual contact! The con- 
tents were not water, it is, perhaps, needless for me to state. 
Any old soldier of the plains can readily tell what it was. 

The Irish Surgeon — His Jokes and Songs 

The night passed at Fort Wallace, the end of our west- 
ward journey, was made memorable by Dr. , the sur- 
geon of General Hancock's staff, and the funniest and 
brightest Irishman I have ever met. As the commissary of 
our mess of four I had purchased two large bottles of old 
rye — "to prevent scurvy." As Representative Laflin, Gen- 
eral Van Wyck, Mr. Abell, and myself were quietly chatting 

242 



Sketches and State Secrets 



in our tent before retiring, this fine "ould Irish Gintleman" 
dropped in to bid us adieu. I produced one of the bottles, 
and suggested a "parting salute" and a "night cap." The 
doctor most readily agreed, as he was a most terrific 
drinker, having, as he said, been "all through the Crimean 
war without a dhrop." His tongue was soon unlimbered 
by the liquor and the occasion, and he regaled us with many 
a song, joke, and conundrum, helping himself after each 
one to the bottle. I recall one of his conundrums, "What 
is the diflference between a fixed star and a Digger Indian — 
the lowest of all Indians?" The answer to which I hesitate 
to give, but the incongruity of the ideas, is my excuse, "you 

see one with a naked eye, the other with a naked 

back !" He became a little hilarious and at last, at mid- 
night, I politely remarked that the other gentlemen were 
tired and sleepy and asked if I could have the honor of 
escorting him to his tent. He replied "certainly," and hav- 
ing reached his tent he invited me in to take a "little medi- 
cine for my nerves," with which I complied. Whereupon, 
he gallantly said, "And now, sorr, allow me the honor to 
escort you to your tent!" He was irresistible, and so we 
both returned to our previous quarters, where he again 
broke loose in song and Irish brogue stories and recita- 
tions, finishing the other bottle and greatly annoying 
Messrs. Laflin and Van Wyck, whom he persisted in enter- 
taining with his favorite songs. 

He sang the following, con expressione, to the air of "I 
Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls" : 

There wuz a fauncy charcoal mon, 

McClusky wuz hiz nayme ; 

Hiz foightin wayte waz sevin stlione, tin, 

And he luv'd swayte Mary Eye Jane ; 

He tuk her out ridin' in his charcoal cart — 

"Twas on Saint Patrick's Day — 

Oh, the donkey tuk froight at a 

So!dier-mon, and he tried for to run away! 

243 




U. S. SENATOR EDWIN D. MORGAN, NEW YORK 
EX-GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK 



Sketches and State Secrets 



They both did schrame, wid all their moight, 

The donkey, for to shtop; 

He upset Mary Eye Jane and all roight 

Into a grocery shop ; 

McCIuskey seen the cruel deed, 

And at the soight tuk pity; 

He stab'd the dom'd donkey wid a piece of charcoal, — 

And he shtarted for — Salt Lake City! 

This was succeeded by another exceedingly funny song, 
the manner of rendition being quite impossible to describe ; 
it was this inimitable manner which largely gave it the 
humorous character. The air is a simple one — typically 
Irish — in a high-pitched tenor or falsetto, on a minor key: 



"Ye'll Come Back Agin" 

Oh ! the divil, he came to the farmer's door : 
Bi-z-z-z, w-i-t-t! (whistle), (pause), (whistle), (pause), (whistle, 

whistle, whistle) ; 
Sez he, "wan of yure fam-ly I must hayve sure !" 

Sing; — tidery-eye-um ; sing; — tidery-eye-aye ! 

"Oh, wife, wife! what have we done?" 
Bi-z-z-z, w-i-t-t! (whistle), (pause), (whistle), (pause), (whistle, 
whistle, whistle) ; 
"The divil, he's come for our oldest son !" 
Sing ; — tidery-eye-um ; sing ; — tidery-eye-aye ! 

" 'Tis not yure oldest son I crave :" 
Bi-z-z-z, w-i-t-t! (whistle), (pause), (whistle), (pause), (whistle, 
whistle, whistle) ; 
"But yure owld woman I now must hayve !" 
Sing; — tidery-eye-um ; sing ; — tidery-eye-aye ! 



Wid that, he clap'd her into his sack : 
Bi-z-z-z, w-i-t-t! (whistle), (pause), (whistle), (pause), 
whistle, whistle) ; 
And down to hell he wint, click-a-ty-clack ! 
Sing ; — tidery-eye-um ; sing ; — tidery-eye-aye ! 



(whistle. 



There stands the owld king, all loaded wid chains : 
Bi-z-z-z, w-i-t-t! (whistle), (pause), (whistle), (pause), (whistle, 
whistle, whistle) ; 
She up wid her futt, and kicked out his brains ! 
Sing ; — tidery-eye-um ; sing ; — tidery-eye-aye ! 

245 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



A little he-divil peeked over the wall : 
Bi-z-z-z, w-i-t-t! (whistle), (pause), (whistle), (pause), (whistle, 
whistle, whistle) ; 
Sez he, — "take her away, or she'll murther us all !" 
Sing ; — tidery-eye-um ; sing ; — tidery-eye-aye ! 

Wid that he chucked her into his sack: 
Bi-z-z-z, w-i-t-t! (whistle), (pause), (whistle), (pause), (whistle, 
whistle, whistle) ; 
And loike a domphule, he wint lugging her back ! 
Sing ; — tidery-eye-um ; sing ; — tidery-eye-aye ! 

Now, all you owld women fond of sin : 
Bi-z-z-z, w-i-t-t! (whistle), (pause), (whistle), (pause), (whistle, 
whistle, whistle) ; 
If ye go to hell;— YE'LL COME BACK AGIN! 
Sing ; — tidery-eye-um ; sing ; — tidery-eye-aye ! 

Here is one of the doctor's stories, with apologies to him : 

"Tim Murphy waz on his death bed, and sint for Father 
Mulrooney to administer the last sacred rites of religion. 
The Father sez to Tim, sez he : 'Tim, I fear your soul is 
lost; ye've never done annything for your God.' Tim sez, 
sez he : T have, yer reverince.' 'Phat wuz it, Tim ?' sez 
Father Mulrooney. T saved a soul, yer riverince.' 'Yez 
did, eh? Whose soul?' 'A Jew's,' sez Tim. 'And how?' 
sez the Father. 'This way,' sez Tim : 'Me and the Jew 
wint out sailin' ; a storm arose and the boat capsized ; I 
clum up onto the upturned bottom of the boat, and I'd no 
sooner got safely seated, than up comes the Jew out of the 
water, and caught hold of the boat. I sez to myself, sez I, 
'Timothy Murphy, now's yer chance to save a soul ;' so I 
grabbed the Jew by the hair and I sez to him, sez I, 'do you 
bela)rve on the Lard, Jesus Christ?' Sez he, 'No, I do not.' 
Then, yer riverince, I just chucked his infiddle head down 
under the water for awhile, and when I pulled him up, I 
axed him agin the same question, and he, a spittin' and 
sputterin', said he did belave. Wid that, yer riverince, I 
chucked him under agin, and held him down till he wuz 

246 



Sketches and State Secrets 



sthone dead — for I wuz afeared the blayguard would 
recant." 

The doctor then recited, in the richest brogue, the fol- 
lowing beautiful Irish lines, the author of which was Alfred 
Percival Graves: 

Father O'Flynn 

Of priests we can offer a charming variety, 

Far renowned for larnin' and piety; 
Still, I'd advance ye widout impropriety, 

Father O'Flynn, as the flower of them all ! 
Slainte, and slainte, and slainte agin; 
Powerfullest preacher, and 
Tinderest teacher, and 
Kindliest creature in ould Donegal. 

Don't talk of your Provost and Fellows of Trinity, 

Famous forever at Greek and Latinity, 
Faix and the divils and all at divinity. 
Father O'Flynn 'd make hares of them all; — 
Come, I vinture to give ye my word. 
Never the likes of his logic was heard — 
Down from mythology 
Into thayology. 
Troth ! and conchology, if he'd the call ; — 
Here's a health to ye. Father O'Flynn, etc., etc. 

Och ! Father O'Flynn, you've the wonderful way wid you ; 

All the ould sinners are wishful to pray wid you ; 
All the young childer are wild for to play wid you, — 

You've such a way wid you, Father avick ! 
Still, for all you've so gentle a soul, 

Gad, you've your flock in the grandest control; — 
Checking the crazy ones, 
Coaxin' onaisy ones, 

Liftin' the lazy ones on wid the stick : — 
Here's a health to you. Father O'Flynn; etc., etc. 

And though quite avoidin' all foolish frivolity. 

Still at seasons of innocent jollity. 
Where was the play-boy could claim an equality 

At comicality, Father, wid you? 

247 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



Once the Bishop looked grave at your jest, 
Till this remark set him oflf wid the rest; — 
"Is it, lave gaity 
All to the laity? 
Can not the clargy be Irishmen too?" 
Here's a health to you, Father O'Flynn ; 
Slainte, and slainte, and slainte agin ; 
PowerfuUest preacher, 
And tinderest teacher, 
And kindliest creatures in ould Donegral. 

He closed by drawling out the old, almost- forgotten song : 
"Joe Bowers" — "Had a Brother Ike" 

My name it is Joe Bowers, and I've got a brother Ike; 
I came from old Missouri, all the way from Pike; 
I'll tell you why I left thar and why I came to roam, 
And leave my poor old Mammy, so far away from home. 

I used to court a gal thar; her name war Sally Black; 
I axed her if she'd marry me; she said it war a whack. 
Says she to me : "Joe Bowers, before we hitch for life, 
You oughter get a little home to keep your little wife." 

"O, Sally ! dearest Sally ! O, Sally ! for your sake, 

I'll go to California, and try to make a stake." 

Says she to me : "Joe Bowers, you are the man to win, — 

Here's a kiss to bind the bargain," and she hove a dozen in. 

When I got to that far kentry, I hadn't nary red; — 

I had such wolfish feelings, I wished myself most dead; 

But the thoughts of my dear Sally soon made them feelings git. 

And whispered hopes to Bowers — I wish I had 'em yet ! 

At length I went to mining; put in my biggest licks; 
Went down upon the boulders, just like a thousand bricks; 
I worked both late and early, in rain, in sun, in snow; — 
I was working for my Sally — 'twas all the same to Joe. 

At length, I got a letter from my dear brother Ike ; 

It came from old Missouri, all the way from Pike; 

It brought to me the darn'dest news that ever you did hear! 

My heart is almost busting, so pray excuse this tear. 

248 



Sketches and State Secrets 



It said jthat Sal war false to me, her love for me had fled ; 
She'd got married to a — butcher ! the butcher's hair was red ! 
And more than that the letter said — it's enough to make me swear — 
That Sally had a baby ; the baby had red hair ! 

Now I've told you all I can about this sad aflfair, — 
'Bout Sally marrying a butcher, that butcher with red hair; 
But whether 'twas a boy or gal child, the letter never said ; 
It only said that the baby's hair was inclined to be red. 

At three o'clock a. m. he left us. At four a. m. our train 
started, and our mess had no preventive for snake bites, 
or chills and fever, or scurvy! 

"Wild Bill" Hickox — A Dramatic Scene 

The most notable occurrence on our long, drawn-out trip, 
was when we were within three or four days' distance from 
our original starting point. 

Several of our party had long since returned by the over- 
land stages ; among them my fastidious companion-du- 
voyage, and the M. C. from Baltimore, who complained of 
the scarcity of quail on toast, terrapin, clams, and cham- 
pagne, and of being compelled instead, to eat "eternally" 
strong buffalo and antelope meat and dry ham, and imbibe 
alkaline water that often was scooped up from buffalo 
wallows, and was full of little lizards, snakes, and "things" 
generally. 

The incident referred to was one of the most dramatic 
and picturesque scenes in my life. 

Our little train had reached a lonely ranch that had the 
appearance of having been but just raided and deserted; 
not a living thing upon it. We stopped, and some of us 
espying what looked like a human being lying out on the 
ground at a distance, went to it and found a man's body 
that bore the marks of a bullet hole through the back and 
the scalp was but lately cut off the top of his head. We 

249 




MAJOR GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK, U. S. A. 
DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT 



Sketches and State Secrets 



knew then that hostile Indians were somewhere about. 
Placing the cold body upon a blanket we brought it back 
to the yard in front of the little deserted cabin that stood 
on a slight knoll. 

We covered the body with a blanket, and as we stood 
around it with blanched faces and fluttering hearts, expect- 
ing any moment to be charged upon by several thousand 
savage Indians and mercilessly slaughtered, and counseling 
what had best be done, the Episcopal minister having in 
his hand the book of prayer preparatory to performing the 
beautiful service of that denomination over the burial of the 
dead, our eyes were quickly gladdened and amazed at the 
sight of a distinguished horseman who dashed up in much 
aplomb. 

It was the celebrated "Wild Bill" — the most noted gov- 
ernment scout ever on the western plains. His real name 
was William Hickox. He, also, was mounted upon a large 
roan stallion that was adorned with all the gorgeous quar- 
terings of an ancient knight. Let me describe "Bill." Al- 
though he was rather taciturn, I became tolerably well 
acquainted with him during the balance of our journey. He 
was of invaluable service to the government, and widely 
known and feared by Indian and white man alike. He 
was the best pistol shot I have ever seen. 

WILD bill's deadly AIM 

His duel with Dave Tutt in the Public Square at Springfield, Mo. 

"It was in the spring of 1865 that Wild Bill and Dave Tutt, ex- 
chief of Confederate scouts, tried conclusions in the public square 
at Springfield, Mo.," said Dr. Hogeboom, surgeon of the A., T. & 
S. F. Railroad. "The war was over, as far as fighting in the field 
was concerned, but the peculiar vindictiveness that characterized all 
the warfare on both sides in Missouri still existed and showed itself 
in many ways. A strong force of United States troops occupied the 
town, the Kansas regiment to which I was attached among them. 
A picturesque and striking figure among those who had fought on 

251 



C I V I L - w A R Echoes — Character 



the Union side was Wild Bill, whose daring and valuable services 
as a Federal scout were fresh in the minds of men. There were 
many ex-confederate soldiers in town, and Tutt, a brave and des- 
perate man and a dead shot, was the leader of that element. They 
lost no opportunity to show their ill-will to the Unionists, and be- 
tween Tutt and Wild Bill bad feeling was strongly manifested. It 
came to the point of an open quarrel one night when Tutt, with his 
gang, came into a saloon, where Wild Bill was seated at a game of 
poker. He had been winning, and with the pile of money before him 
on the table was a gold watch and chain that some one had wagered 
and lost. Tutt had come for a quarrel. He watched the game for 
a few minutes, then said suddenly : 

" 'Bill, I want you to pay me the money you owe me.' 

"T have paid you once, isn't that enough?' said Wild Bill, looking 
up from the hand of cards he held. 

"Tutt reached over and took the gold watch and chain from Wild 
Bill's pile of winnings. 

" 'You owe me that money,' he said, 'I'll keep this watch to satisfy 
the debt.' 

"Wild Bill looked at him with perfect calmness. 'Better put it 
back, Dave,' he said. 'You'll be sorry if you don't.' 

"Tutt laughed and put the watch in his pocket, which ended the 
matter for that night. Next day he sent word to Wild Bill that 
on the following Saturday, at noon, he would carry the watch and 
chain across the public square, entering it at the northeast corner. 
This was a challenge which Wild Bill could not ignore. 

" 'I'll be there,' he said, when the message was given him, and 
went home and cleaned and oiled his pistols. He did not show 
himself about town much until Saturday noon came. Then as Tutt 
appeared at the northeast corner of the public square. Wild Bill 
walked in at the southwest corner. As the two men approached 
each other, walking from the corners diagonally opposite, it was 
seen that a group of Tutt's friends were gathered at the corner to 
the left of Wild Bill, and nobody present doubted that they were 
there to take a hand in the shooting if the fight went against Tutt. 

"The distance between the two men at the start was one hundred 
and forty yards. They walked steadily toward each eather, with 
pistols in the belts, until about fifty paces separated them. Then 
Tutt made a motion as if to draw his pistol. Instantly Wild Bill's 
pistol came up, and holding its butt with both hands without sight- 
ing, he fired at Tutt, who threw up his hands, staggered and fell 
dead on his face, shot through the heart. 

"With the crack of his pistol Wild Bill wheeled and faced the 
group of Tutt's friends, pistols in hand. Some of them had drawn 
their weapons, but they put them up in a hurry, and declared that the 
duel had been a fair one. Wild Bill was king of the town after that, 
as he was chief for many a year afterward on the plains and in 
the tough frontier towns." — New York Sun. 

252 



Sketches and State Secrets 



He stood exactly six feet and two inches in height in 
stockings. He wore high-top spurred boots, buckskin 
trousers with long fringe on the outer leg seams, a striking 
indian-beaded belt around his waist, and in which, behind 
on his back, rested two beautiful ivory-handle six-shooter 
pistols, large calibered and silver-mounted, also a knife and 
sheath; his shirt was an immaculate white linen, pleated 
and pearl laundried front, fastened by three large, pure 
white diamond studs, a turn-down linen collar, low in the 
neck, red silk scarf under it, tied loosely with short flowing 
ends; a red cloth, highly embroidered in gold and blue, 
Zouave short jacket just covering his pistol handles behind, 
and open wide and unbuttoned in front, exposing the great 
expanse of shirt bosom over his immense chest, studs, and 
long, heavy, gold link neck watch chain. His neck was 
large, but not gross and was perfect in mold. His face 
was a remarkable one. In type he was a semi-blonde. 
Fearlessness was stamped upon every lineament of his face, 
which was long and fairly full ; a firm, square chin, adorned 
with an imperial ; mouth covered with a silky, large, droop- 
ing, light-brown mustache; a straight nose with wide open 
nostrils ; deep set and steady, piercing steel-gray eyes ; a 
noble brow surmounted by a mass of light-brown hair 
parted on the middle of the head and falling down in long 
curls that reached his shoulders. The whole crowned with 
an immense gray sombrero. Such was the appearance of 
this most noted of all Uncle Sam's scouts as he presented 
himself unexpectedly to our gaze. 



"Abilene isn't much like the Abilene of a third of a century 
ago," said Col. J. W. Burton, a former well-known Kansas politician, 
at the Normandie. In the old days it was the hottest town of its 
size in America. The cowboys were the ruling factor, and municipal 
government went to very loose ends. 

"Wild Bill was city marshal of Abilene at one time, and his never- 
failing sight, when applied to the barrel of a six-shooter, had a ten- 

253 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



dency to bring some semblance to order out of the usual chaotic 
lawlessness that pervaded the town. What he said was a law in 
itself, and the one who disregarded his utterances was quite apt to 
become possessor of a small claim in the cemetery that had been 
opened on a rise of prairie ground just outside the town. 

"Wild Bill was just the kind of a man for the times. While many 
persons owed their death to his unerring aim, he was far from being 
a bad man at heart. Bill had a heart as big as an ox's, and it could 
be touched as easily as a woman's." — Washington (D. C.) Star. 

Wild Bill's Bravery 

"As good an example of the 'bad man' turned marshal as one 
can point out is 'Wild Bill' Hickock, whose fame will endure as 
long as that of his cousin, 'Buffalo Bill.' 'Wild Bill' was known as 
a fighter in the various cities from Dodge to Denver and from 
Tombstone to Deadwood. He began his fighting career in the Civil 
War, one of the most famous of his exploits being the spiking of 
the guns at Fort Pillow. The Federal fleet did not dare ascend the 
Missouri under the guns of the fort. 'Wild Bill' was dropped into 
the river, having around his neck a string of light files with which 
to spike the cannon. He strangled the sentry, climbed inside the 
fort and forced the files into the priming holes of the cannon. When 
he was spiking the last gun he was discovered. He escaped over 
the wall, swam away, notified the fleet, and the Federals came up 
the river past the helpless fort. 

"When 'Wild Bill' was living on the Big Blue, near Manhattan, 
Kansas, eight pro-slavery men visited his cabin with the intention 
of killing him. He was at the spring when they came, but he shot 
two of them dead, got into the house and shot four more before 
his pistol was empty. The two remaining men sprang upon him, 
but he killed them both with his knife. Such feats made 'Wild Bill' 
famous throughout the entire west, and there was a rivalry among 
the lively cities of the frontier to secure him as a marshal. He was 
one of the most picturesque figures of the old days. His hair was 
long, brown and curling. His moustache gave a fierce look to his 
face and his keen eyes made him a man who would be picked out 
as extraordinary in any crowd. He had the shoulders of a hercules 
and the waist of a woman, and his physical strength was phenomenal. 

"His chief characteristic, however, was the quickness with which 
he could draw his revolvers. He never took aim, but the weapons 
were discharged as soon as they were drawn from their resting 
places. This fact doubtless saved him from death a hundred times. 
He always depended on the fraction of a section advantage which 
his own quickness gave him over his opponent. 

254 



Sketches and State Secrets 



"other exploits 

"In Hays City, two soldiers undertook to kill 'Wild Bill' and they 
crept on him from behind. One of them knocked him down with 
the butt of a revolver. As he lay on the ground half-stunned, 'Wild 
Bill' instinctively drew his terrible revolvers and both soldiers were 
killed before they could complete their work. 

"At another time a noted gambler sought to kill 'Wild Bill.' Hic- 
kox not only shot the gambler dead, but killed one of the man's 
friends who was running to assist him. Then he paid the funeral 
expenses of both men. A refractory alderman of Hayes City, whose 
vote was needed, swore that not even 'Wild Bill' could take him to 
the council chamber. 'Wild Bill' walked up to the man, threw him 
on his shoulders, and carried the alderman into the council chamber 
like a sack of flour. As a marshal 'Wild Bill' made a wonderful 
record and usually his mere appearance was enough to make a law- 
breaker submit to arrest. This hero of a hundred battles, like 
nearly all other men who have depended on the revolver, met an 
ignominious death in a saloon at Deadwood, being shot in the back 
by an Irishman with whom he had had an altercation. — Detroit Free 
Press. 



When told of our find he dismounted quickly, and seizing 
a handy axe began chopping the lines for a grave through 
the prairie sod, at each blow uttering frightful oaths and 
maledictions against the "Red Devils of Hell." 

What a memorable picture for an artist! A dozen East- 
ern gentlemen in civil life — frightened almost out of their 
wits for fear of Indians — and half as many more soldiers, 
all standing with uncovered heads around the body of a 
newly-massacred pioneer — the preacher with prayer-book 
in hand — and all gazing at this gaudily attired and strik- 
ingly magnificent scout as he emitted volley after volley ot 
oaths and curses upon the Indians with each powerful blow 
of his axe into the earth ! He would stop once in a while, 
draw himself up to his full height, shade his eyes with a 
hand, and take a sweeping survey of the horizon to see if 
there were any more Indians lurking around. I am glad I 
had the privilege of shaking the hand of this noble and 
brave man. He was subsequently killed in a saloon by being 

255 




WILD BILL HICKOXj U. S. SCOUT 



Sketches and State Secret 



shot through the back of the head — exactly the way he fore- 
told his death to me. 

Every succeeding night during the return trip, my friend 
Beaman, who I believe was a native of Boston and subse- 
quently achieved great distinction in the profession of law 
in New York City, would solemnly say to his fellow tent 
lodgers: "Boys, I believe I'll sleep with my boots on to- 
night!" The first night he went so far as to quickly slip 
into my hand a little bit of paper, which he quietly told me 
was his will, and said that whereas he would undoubtedly 
be among the slain, I, being the youngest member of the 
party, would manage in some way to escape. 

But we all safely arrived in due time in St. Louis, none 
the worse, only as to increased appetites — for the only pro- 
visions we had had during the trip back consisted of ham 
and coffee for breakfast, ham, coflfee, and big yellow canned 
peas for dinner, and ham, peas, and coffee for supper ! My 
friend Abell and I made ourselves sick by overeating our 
first meal at the Southern Hotel. I had thus had the privi- 
lege on this trip of "touching elbows" with two very dis- 
tinguished personages — General Hancock and "Wild Bill," 
or William Hickox. 

Greenbriar White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia 

In the summer of 1870 my system became impregnated 
with the malaria that usually prevailed in the region of 
Washington, and I was greatly reduced in health. My 
father suggested a trip and sojourn at the noted Greenbriar 
White Sulphur Springs in West Virginia. We accordingly 
went there together, he staying a few days, while I re- 
mained about a month. In those days this was, and had for 
many years been, a noted favorite summer resort for 
Southern people; in fact, it was regarded as the "Saratoga 
of the South." 

18 257 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



My father's name had become quite well known among 
prominent people in that section by reason of his being the 
author of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States 
Constitution, commonly known as "The Howard Amend- 
ment ;" as well as the further fact that he was chairman of 
the subcommittee of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction, 
having charge of Virginia, North and South Carolinas, and 
as such had personally before him for examination as to 
the conditions and sentiments of the people many of the 
most prominent gentlemen who had been connected with 
the fortunes of the Southern Confederacy, including Gen- 
eral Robert E. Lee and others. I will stop in my narrative 
to say, parenthetically, that General Lee made a most favor- 
able and agreeable impression upon him, as a man of lofty 
ideals and pure, conscientious motives, but unfortunately 
for him, who was infused with the false doctrines of John 
C. Calhoun and his school. 

Kentucky's Most Beautiful Daughter 

Owing to my father's public prominence I at once secured 
all that might be desired in the way of a room and seat at 
table, I was invited by Hon. Richard T. Merrick, a leading 
member of the bar of Washington, and who had been coun- 
sel to John H, Surratt in the trial of the conspirators in the 
assassination of Lincoln, to occupy a seat at the table held 
for his own family and that of representative, afterward 
Senator James B. Beck, of Kentucky, the latter consisting 
of Mrs. Beck and her two daughters — the two latter having 
a wide reputation for exceeding beauty. 

I shall never forget the first time I met the elder of the 
two young ladies — Miss Margaret. Never in my life had 
I seen such a rare and radiantly beautiful girl. My pen 
hesitates at the task of description of her personality. My 
eyes were not blinded by the little god of Love, for I had 
been informed she was engaged to marry a Washington 

258 



Sketches and State Secrets 



gentleman of great expected wealth; to wit, a nephew of 
Banker Corcoran. As described by a resident correspondent 
of a Baltimore paper : "There is a struggle for supremacy of 
the blonde and the brunette in her, with eyes as soft as the 
down that shares the cygnets' nest." 

Her figure was perfect in outline, her complexion a light, 
fair, rich olive cream, with pink color in her cheeks ; ripe, 
rosy lips, parted slightly and disclosing the most perfect and 
wondrous pearly-white teeth ever possessed by woman ; 
a Grecian nose, wide nostrils, a pair of superbly beautiful 
violet blue eyes, dark, long lashes and arching eyebrows, 
never by any possibility surpassed by a mortal ; a low, broad 
brow, smooth and devoid of lines of carking care, crowned 
with a mass of wavy, fine light-brown, silky hair — all this 
added to a wondrous charm of unaffected and innocent 
manner. 

This maiden was unquestionably the most beautiful of all 
the many noted beautiful daughters of Kentucky, cele- 
brated the wide world over, in that line especially. She 
informed me she never drank tea nor coffee nor liquors of 
any kind. She was fond of and was satisfied with pure 
milk. Daily I feasted my eyes on this charming girl at 
table, and twice in masquerade balls where she appeared 
as "Queen Elizabeth" and "Martha Washington," respec- 
tively. The following fall she was married to Mr. Cor- 
coran and within two weeks immediately thereafter she 
passed beyond this earth life, having died of a fever. I 
attended the funeral ceremonies in the mansion of Mr. W. 
W. Corcoran, and gazed upon her lovely person for the 
last time as it lay robed in her white satin wedding gown, 
in a casket of white, covered with the rarest exotics of 
earth's flowers. Sic transit gloria niundi. 

Another most fascinating and rarely accomplished lady 

there, who also graced our table set, was Mrs. B y, 

whose husband had been the only member of Congress from 

259 



C I V I L - w A R Echoes — Character 



the state of Louisiana who remained steadfastly loyal to the 
Union. 

I recall her costume, made by Worth, which she wore 
at a fancy masquerade ball given in the 300-foot long ball- 
room hall of the hotel. I find a description of it in my 
scrap book, and am tempted to copy it for the benefit of my 

lady readers. Here it is : "Mrs. B y, of Washington, 

D. C, as the 'Muse of Poetry,' wore an underskirt of sky 
blue satin over which a trained black satin robe, dotted with 
golden stars, was looped with heavy gold cords and tassels ; 
the bodice of buttercup satin, with garlands of flowers em- 
broidered in floss silk; a vail of spangled gauze and a 
diadem of gold, shooting diamond stars — probably the most 
gorgeous and elegant costume ever worn at this place." I 
was her escort as "Don Caesar de Basan," in black velvet 
costume. 

Senator Chestnut, of South Carolina 

I had been at these springs but a few days when I became 
acquainted with a gentleman of marked individuality and 
historical character. He was ex-Senator Chestnut, of 
South Carolina, the first senator to abandon his seat in the 
United States Senate at the commencement of hostilities 
in the great Civil War. He was a thoroughly, typical 
Southern gentleman of the days "befoh de wah." He had 
not applied for a pardon and scorned to do so. 

Under the seductive influence of a couple of boxes of the 
finest Havana cigars, obtained personally on that Island 
and presented me by my warm-hearted and generous friend. 
General O. E. Babcock — President Grant's private secre- 
tary, on my leaving Washington — I soon got through the 
outer crust of the shell of this old "chestnut," and was 
greatly entertained by his reminiscent conversation. Our 
talks were, of course, desultory and adapted to the present 
occasion largely. I recall some of his ideas distinctly. 

260 



Sketches and State Secrets 



Speaking of the acts of secession of the southern states and 
the following opening of hostilities, he said the mistake the 
South made was it seceded about six weeks too soon; that 
they were not quite ready; that, without intending to give 
me the slightest offense by his words, there was no question 
but that "one Southerner was equal to five Northerners in 
the matter of physical bravery, as the men of the South were 
accustomed to the free use of firearms from youth up to 
manhood, while you Northern people are purely a commer- 
cial people, engaged in commerce and trade, and as a conse- 
quence totally unaccustomed to the use of firearms !" 

Such was this statesman's deliberately pronounced esti- 
mate of the men of the North, held even after they had 
conquered those of the South! He said they conquered 
simply by numbers. I shall not intrude before my readers 
my answering comments to contradict his statements. He 
was as bitter against the Federal Government of the United 
States at this time as when he seceded with his state from 
the Union. Personally, he was a delightful old gentleman, 
but abounding in the old-time Southern formality and cere- 
mony. He invariably accepted one of my cigars every 
evening after dinner, and shared his talk and company with 
me. I learned much of Southern character from these com- 
panionable interviews. 

Jeiferson Davis and James M. Mason 

Two other leading Southern statesmen I saw, in close 
proximity, at this summer resort. One was Jefferson 
Davis, ex-President of the "Confederate States of America," 
and James M. Mason, of Virginia, ex-United States 
Senator, and later Confederate Minister to England. The 
latter gentleman sat at an adjoining table, in the dining 
room — Mr. Corcoran's. He was built physically somewhat 
on the order of Stephen A. Douglas^ and resembled him in 

261 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



face in a marked degree, if my memory serves me cor- 
rectly. It will be remembered that Mr. Mason, together 
with Mr. Slidell, of Louisiana, having been appointed spe- 
cial commissioners to negotiate treaties with foreign nations 
in behalf of the Southern Confederacy, were captured on a 
British vessel sailing under British colors, by Captain, after- 
ward Admiral Charles Wilkes, of the United States Navy, 
acting upon his own responsibility and sturdy sense of right. 
They were shortly released on Britain's demand, by advice 
of Secretary Seward, and so a foreign war was averted. 

One day I was strolling through the crowded galleries of 
the hotel, when I bumped into a rather attenuated gentle- 
man coming toward me looking in another direction, as I 
was also partly doing myself. We both quickly apologized, 
when, upon looking into his face, the thought flashed into 
my mind: "If you are not Jefferson Davis, judging from his 
engraved pictures, you certainly are his twin brother, and 
you certainly do bear a remarkable resemblance to that 
fighting parson of Illinois, Colonel Jacokes." I noted espe- 
cially the defect in his eye, and a peculiar, pinkish-gray 
spring overcoat he had on his person. We each gave way 
to the other, and he passed on. Shortly I was informed 
that Mr. Davis was present at the hotel and so I was con- 
firmed in my surmise. I did not see him again. He must 
have kept close to his quarters. So we "touched elbows." 

"Beau" Hickman; His "Gall" and Tact 

Another noted character there was "Beau" Hickman; 
poor, old, frayed out "Beau," a striking specimen of the 
genus "decayed respectability." His regular haunts were 
at the hotels in Washington, where he was well known. 
He was a wag and practically a beggar. It was related of 
him that while sojourning at the springs, there was also a 
noted English swell snob with his lackey, who attended 

262 



Sketches and State Secrets 



him at his sulphur baths, and was ordered in a loud voice 
to bring his master his pants as numbered. On one occa- 
sion when this cad was on the gallery in the midst of the 
hotel guests, Hickman, approaching as near as he dare, 
shouted out : "Jo^*^ • John ! bring me paunts number forty- 
nine !" 

The resulting laughter and quiet gibes were too much 
for even the English asinine hide, and he precipitately fled, 
and the next day the place was freed from the presence 
of the most detestable creature on this earth — an English 
snob! 

Another good story of this character told by himself 
with great glee : A rich acquaintance made him a wager 
at big odds that he could not go from Washington to New 
York without paying his fare. He accepted the wager 
and was shortly ensconced in a seat in a railway car, hav- 
ing upon his head an antiquated high silk hat (his usual 
hat was of this order). He speedily opened the car win- 
dow, and when he caught sight of the conductor entering 
the car to collect tickets, Beau put his head out of the 
window as far as he could and kept it there until he was 
roughly shaken by the former, who asked for his ticket. 
Beau, in a well simulated and indignant manner, drew his 
head back into the car, managing to knock his old plug 
off as he did so. He, then, with well assumed mingled dig- 
nity and anger, told the conductor that his ticket was stuck 
in the band of his hat which he had lost owing to that 
official's impudence! He was passed on through to New 
York, besides receiving the cost of a new hat ! 

He told me another one, perhaps worth recording, as he 
was for many years a very noted character in the Capital 
City. 

Some wealthy friend, full of fun, purchased Beau an 
elaborate suit of clothes and paid his fare to New York, 
giving him a cordial letter of introduction, under an as- 

263 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



sumed name, to a hotel-keeper of like fun-loving proclivities 
as the writer. Beau arrived in due season and was given 
the best the house afforded, preserving his incognito until 
after the lapse of a few weeks, when the landlord received 
a note from his joking friend in Washington, asking him 
how he liked Beau Hickman ! The landlord "tumbled to 
the racket," and resolved to have some fun himself at the 
expense of his fellow hotel-keepers, and so introduced old 
Beau to one of them with all due ceremony as "Count 

" This game was kept up by each proprietor on 

another until, as Beau said, he had passed "a very enjoya- 
ble season at the leading hotels of New York without a 
dammed cent's expense, suh!" , 

An Evening, en Famille, at the White House 

During the early spring of 1871, my father's relations 
with President Ulysses S. Grant, were fast becoming more 
intimate. The latter was exceedingly pleased with the 
character of the former's report to the Senate, as chairman 
of the committee on the purchase of the Island of San 
Domingo, a proceeding which it strongly favored, and in 
which the President was profoundly concerned, as that 
island would be an inestimably important coaling station 
for our navy and marine in southern waters. It was on 
this rock that the long-time friendship between Mr. Sumner 
and many of his friends split, the former allowing his bitter 
hostility to Grant to control his better judgment, and so 
lose his place as chairman of the Foreign Relations 
Committee. 

Calling one evening with my father at the White House, 
we were met very cordially in the Blue Room by the Presi- 
dent, who asked us to come out and join Mrs. Grant and 
others on the back porch or gallery. Arriving there we 
found a small party of distinguished people, among them I 

264 



Sketches and State Secrets 



recall especially General James Longstreet, of Confederate 
fame. My recollection of him is that he was in the neigh- 
borhood of six feet in height, exceedingly courtly and suave 
in speech and movement, with all the manly graces acquired 
from good birth and breeding and mingling in refined 
society. He was a noble-looking man with rather pale 
complexion, side whiskers and mustache, and I think he 
wore a gloved cork hand. The conversation was of a gen- 
eral nature, as to him, but I was struck with the silvery 
smoothness of his well modulated voice. I can not recall 
any of his remarks. I was shortly engaged in a reminiscent 
conversation with Mrs. Grant as to her early life in my 
native city, while my father and the President were quietly 
and amicably discussing affairs of state. On our return 
to our hotel, father informed me that the President had 
offered him the chairmanship of the Southern Claims Com- 
mission, and requested him to think it over and not decide 
at once. He had been defeated for the third election, and 
his second term as senator was soon to expire on March 
4, 1871. Shortly thereafter he mailed the President his 
declination of the honor tendered, as he had become tired 
of public life, and longed for the quiet of home life again. 
There was little of the active politician about him. He died 
of apoplexy within a month after his return to his home. 
Shortly after his decease in April, 1871, I received a pri- 
vate note of condolence and sympathy from General O. E. 
Babcock, in behalf of President and Mrs. Grant, and inform- 
ing me that it had been the former's intention to offer my 
father the portfolio of Attorney General of the United 
States. President Grant shortly tendered this relator the 
Federal office of United States District Attorney for the 
Southern District of Florida, which, after due consideration, 
was declined with thanks. 

26s 




FERNANDO WOOD, M. C, OF NEW YORK 
EX-MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY 



Sketches and State Secrets 



My readers will pardon a paragraph or two entirely 
personal, as illustrative of one phase of General Grant's 
character. 

While this relator was a temporary resident of the terri- 
tory of Utah, where he was engaged in mining with a 
younger brother, whom President Grant had appointed 
Register of the United States Land Office there, I was 
desirous of being appointed as a member of the Utah Com- 
mission, a body established by Congress to regulate the 
matter of suffrage. I accordingly wrote General Grant, 
whose term as President had expired, asking his kindly aid 
in procuring the office, and received the following consid- 
erate reply from him : 



New York City^ June i. 

Dear Sir : I have your letter of the 2gth ult. Perhaps I should 
have written to you on the receipt of your former letter to tell you 
what I had done in the matter of your request. My excuse for not 
doing so is that I receive more letters in regard to appointments 
than I can possibly answer. 

But as soon as your letter was received I made as favorable 
endorsement as I could on it, and forwarded it to the President. 
If I had retained a copy of my endorsement I would enclose it to 
you. But I did not. I remember, however, that I called the atten- 
tion of the President to the services and standing of your father; 
to the fact also that you resided in Utah, and could, therefore, 
afiford to accept the position, although the compensation would not 
justify a person from outside, competent for the place, in accepting 
it except as a sort of missionary work. 

Very truly yours, 

U. S. Grant. 



The first time I met General Grant after the receipt of 
the foregoing letter was after the lapse of several months. 
He was in my home city and holding a quasi-public recep- 
tion. As I approached to shake his hand he was standing at 
rest, with his eyes looking down upon the floor, there be- 
ing a cessation of callers. On my name being announced 
to him by the chairman of the reception committee, he 

267 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



quickly looked up, smiled, cordially grasped my hand, and 
remarked as if the subject was fresh in his mind: "I sup- 
pose you have not heard from Washington yet. I wrote as 
strongly as I could to the President, but I am afraid we 
made a mistake in asking your appointment to be credited 
to Utah." He was right. I did not get the appointment. 
His remarkable recollection of a comparatively insignificant 
matter as that here referred to, coming so unexpectedly 
before his mind simply by my presence, shows the celerity 
of his mental action even in trivial things. 



268 




JACOB M. HOWARD 

U. S. Senator from Michigan , 1862-ji; Author of the First Plat- 
form of the Republican Party, and of the ijth Afnendment 
to the United States Constitution; Chairman Pacific 
Railroads Committee, and Select Committee 
on President fohnson's Impeachment 



CHAPTER SIX 
Senator Jacob M. Howard, LL.D., Michigan 

GRADUATE OF WILLIAMS COLLEGE, MASSACHUSETTS — MEM- 
BER OF THE MICHIGAN STATE LEGISLATURE MEMBER OF 

THE TWENTY-SEVENTH UNITED STATES CONGRESS AT- 
TORNEY GENERAL OF MICHIGAN, THREE TERMS, 1854- 
1860 — UNITED STATES SENATOR FROM MICHIGAN, 1862- 
187I — AUTHOR OF FIRST PLATFORM, AND GODFATHER OF 
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY — AUTHOR OF THE THIRTEENTH 
AMENDMENT OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION 
ABOLISHING CHATTEL SLAVERY, ETC. 

Jacob M. Howard was born in Shaftsbury, Vermont, 
July 10, 1805, His father was a substantial farmer of Ben- 
nington County, and the sixth in descent from William 
Howard,^ of England, who settled in Braintree, Massa- 
chusetts, in 1635, five years after the town was established. 

The subject of this sketch, although frequently in requisi- 
tion to assist in farm labors, early evinced a taste for study, 
which he was permitted to gratify by attendance at the dis- 
trict school. Subsequently pursuing preparatory studies in 
the academies of Bennington and Brattleboro, he entered 
Williams College, Massachusetts, in 1826, and graduated in 
1830. He immediately commenced the study of law in 
Ware, Maa.. chusetts, and in July, 1832, removed to Detroit, 
then the capital of Michigan Territory, where he was ad- 
mitted to the bar in the following year. In 1835 he was 
married to Miss Catherine A. Shaw — a kinswoman of 
Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw,^ whose mother was a Howard — 



^Hon. William Howard Taft of Ohio, is his namesake, and the 
8th generation in descent. ^Oi Massachusetts. 

269 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



whose acquaintance he had formed at Ware, and who, 
beloved by all who knew her, departed this life in 1866, 
leaving two daughters and three sons surviving her. 

In his professional career, Mr. Howard was ever faithful 
to the interests of his clients, bringing to their service great 
industry, a mind well-stored with legal learning, much 
native sagacity and force of logic. 

In 1835, he was a Whig candidate for a seat in the con- 
vention to form a State Constitution, but was not elected. 

In the controversy of 1834 and 1835 between the Terri- 
tory and Ohio, respecting a tier of townships which had 
ever belonged to Michigan, on her southern border, em- 
bracing the present city of Toledo, Mr. Howard took strong 
ground against the claim of Ohio ; and, having employed 
his pen in repelling it, finally, when Mr. Mason, the territo- 
rial governor, thought it necessary to employ military force 
against a similar force from Ohio, Mr. Howard volun- 
teered, and proceeded with arms to make good the argu- 
ments he had advanced. The expedition was, however, 
productive only of wasteful expenditure to the Territory, 
and a large slaughter of pigs and poultry. 

In 1838, Mr. Howard was a member of the State Legis- 
lature, and took an active part in the enactment of the code 
known as the Revised Laws of that year; in the railroad 
legislation of the state, and in examining into the condi- 
tion of the brood of "free banks," known as "wildcat banks," 
that had come into pernicious existence under the free- 
banking system enacted the year before. This examination 
developed such a scene of fraud and corruption in the local 
currency of the state, that the paper of those banks soon 
lost all credit ; and the State Supreme Court, as soon as the 
question was fairly brought before it, adjudged them to be 
all unconstitutional and void; a decision in which the com- 
munity most heartily acquiesced. 

270 



Sketches and. State Secrets 



In the presidential canvass of 1840, which resulted in 
the election of General Harrison, Mr. Howard was a candi- 
date for Congress, and was elected by 1,500 majority. Dur- 
ing the three sessions of the Twenty-seventh Congress he 
engaged seldom in debate, but was an attentive observer of 
the scenes which passed before him. His feelings and 
opinions had ever been against slavery, its influences, its 
crimes, its power. John Quincy Adams and Joshua R. Gid- 
dings, both members of the House, championed the anti- 
slavery cause. Henry A. Wise, Mr. Gilmer, and Mr. Mal- 
lory, of Virginia, and Thomas F. Marshall, of Kentucky, 
were the leading combatants on the other side. The con- 
flict, which occupied a large portion of that Congress, was 
fierce and fiery. 

With what interest did Mr. Howard, then a new member 
and a young man, drink in the words of the "Old Man 
Eloquent,"^ as he unfolded his mighty argument against 
the "sum of all villainies," and the dangers it menaced to the 
liberties of our country! He left that Congress with the 
full conviction that the final solution of the great question 
would be a civil war, though hoping that some measure 
might be devised less radical and terrible, that should calm 
the deeply-stirred passions of the people. He remained 
steadfastly attached to the Whig party, and in the presi- 
dential canvasses of 1844, 1848, and 1852, exerted himself 
to promote the election of Mr. Clay, General Taylor, and 
General Scott. 

In the trial of a slave case, under the fugitive slave act 
of 1850, in the United States Circuit Court, before Judge 
McLean, he denounced that act as a defiance, a challenge 
to the conflict of arms by the South to the North, and pre- 
dicted that sooner or later it would be accepted; and char- 



^John Quincy Adams. 

271 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



acterized its author (Mr, Mason, of Virginia,) as an enemy 
of his country and a traitor to the Union. 

On the defeat of General Scott, he resolved to withdraw 
entirely from politics ; but on the passage of the Act of 
1854, repealing the Missouri Compromise, he again entered 
the political arena in resistance to that flagrant encroach- 
ment of the slave power. He was among those who took 
the earliest steps to effect an organization for the over- 
throw of the Democratic party of the North, which had 
become the willing ally of the pro-slavery or secession party 
of the South. He saw that such a party must embrace all 
the elements of popular opposition to the principles and 
aims of the slaveholders. The old Whig party, never as a 
party having made its influence felt in opposition to those 
principles and aims, had become powerless as an agency 
whereby to combat them — or even to move the hearts of the 
people. Yet by far the greater portion of its members in 
the free states were in sentiment opposed to the schemes of 
the slave power, now too manifest to be misapprehended or 
viewed with indifference. 

To count upon this portion of the Whig party was ob- 
vious. The great end to be obtained was a firm and cordial 
union of this with two other elements, the old Abolition 
party proper, and the "Free Soil Democracy." In Michigan, 
these last two had already coalesced and had put in nomina- 
tion a state ticket, at the head of which was the name of 
Hon. Kinsley S. Bingham as their candidate for Governor. 

A call, numerously signed, was issued, inviting all free- 
men of the state, opposed to the recent measures of Con- 
gress on the subject of Slavery, to assemble at Jackson, 
(Michigan,) on the 6th of July (1854). 

The assemblage was numerous, and the utmost harmony 
and good feeling prevailed. "Whigs," "Abolitionists," 
"Free Soilers," and "Liberty Men," met and shook hands 
like a band of brothers. A deep seriousness pervaded the 

272 



Sketches and State Secrets 



whole, and a prescience of the events soon to develop them- 
selves, seemed to teach them that this was the "beginning 
of the end" of slavery. 

Mr. Howard was the sole author of the series of 

RESOLUTIONS THAT WERE ADOPTED. ThEY STRONGLY DE- 
NOUNCED SLAVERY AS A MORAL,, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL EVIL, 
AS A SOURCE OF NATIONAL WEAKNESS AND ENDLESS INTER- 
NAL strife; they condemned the repeal OF THE Mis- 
souri Compromise and the consequent opening of all 

NEW territories TO SLAVERY; THEY ENCOURAGED IN NO 
EQUIVOCAL TERMS THE FREE SETTLERS OF KANSAS TO RESIST 
THE TYRANNY AND OUTRAGES WITH WHICH THE SLAVE 
POWER WAS SEEKING TO CRUSH THEM. ThEY WENT FUR- 
THER — THEY DEMANDED, NOT THE RESTORATION OF THAT 
COMPROMISE, BUT, AS AN INDEMNITY FOR THE FUTURE, AS 
JUST AND NECESSARY SAFEGUARDS AGAINST THE GRASPING 
AMBITION OF SLAVEHOLDERS, THE BANISHMENT OF SLAVERY 
BY LAW FROM ALL THE TERRITORIES OF THE UnITED StATES, 

FROM THE District of Columbia, and all other places 
OWNED by the Government. They invoked the cordial 
cooperation of all persons and parties for the attain- 
ment OF these great ends; and GAVE to the new party 
there consolidated the name OF "REPUBLICAN," by 

WHICH IT has since BEEN KNOWN.* 

Mr. Bingham was here again nominated for Governor, 
and Mr. Howard against his own earnest remonstrances 
put in nomination for Attorney-General of the state. At 
the ensuing November election, the whole ticket was elected 
by a large majority, notwithstanding the earnest appeals 



^"Wilson's Rise and Fall of Slave Power." Vol. i, pp. 412-3. 

"The Republican Party," by Curtis. Vol. i, pp. i and 185-192. 

(Note — Mr. Horace Greeley suggested, by telegraph, the name of 
"Democratic-Republican Party," but as the Democratic party had 
been the authors and abettors of the measure complained of, the 
new party rejected even any nominal connection with them.) 

19 273 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



of General Cass and other speakers from the stump, strug- 
gling against the popular current. 

Mr, Howard was a member of the Committee on the Ad- 
dress at the first National Republican Convention held at 
Pittsburg, February 22, 1856. He held the office of Attor- 
ney-General of Michigan for six years, and left it January 
I, 1861. While holding that important office, his incessant 
labors attested his fidelity to his trust; and the published 
reports of the Supreme Court evince his thoroughness and 
talents as a lawyer. To him the state is indebted for its 
excellent law, known as the Registration Act, by which all 
voters are required to enter their names on the proper books 
of townships and wards. 

Mr. Bingham was elected to the United States Senate 
in January, 1859, and died in October, 1861. On the as- 
sembling of the Legislature in January following, Mr. How- 
ard was chosen to fill the vacancy. He was made chair- 
man of the Committee on Pacific Railroads^the largest 
committee in the Senate — from 1862 to 1871 ; was an active 
member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, and that 
of Military Affairs and on Private Land Claims. He gave 
an earnest support to all the measures for the prosecution 
of the war to subdue the rebellion, and was among the first 
to recommend the passage of the Conscription Act of 1863, 
being convinced that the volunteer system could not safely 
be relied upon as a means of recruiting and increasing the 
army. Every measure for supplying men and means found 
in him a warm supporter. He favored the principle of con- 
fiscation of the property of the rebels, and one of his most 
elaborate and eloquent speeches was made on that subject 
in April, 1862. A careful observer of the movements of 
parties, he early came to the conclusion that General Mc- 
Clellan was acting in the interests of the anti-war portion of 
the Democratic party, and consequently lost all confidence 
in his efficiency as a commander. Influenced by this feeling, 

274 



Sketches and State Secrets 



he called on President Lincoln, in company with Senator 
Lane, of Indiana, in March, 1862, and earnestly urged the 
dismissal of that general from the command of the Army 
of the Potomac. But Mr. Lincoln thought it best, as he said, 
"to try Mac a little longer." He added : ''Mac is slow, but 
I still have confidence in him." And thus McClellan was 
re-tained. 

Mr. Howard was among the first to favor an 
amendment of the constitution, abolishing slavery 

THROUGHOUT THE UnITED StATES, IN THE JUDICIARY COM- 
MITTEE OF THE Senate, who reported the amendment 

AS IT WAS finally PASSED BY BOTH HoUSES AND RATIFIED 

BY THE State Legislatures. HE DRAFTED THE 
FIRST AND PRINCIPAL CLAUSE IN THE EXACT 
WORDS IN WHICH IT NOW APPEARS (XIII 
Article) . 

Some members of the committee remarked despairingly : 
"It is undertaking too much ; we can not get it through the 
Legislatures, or even the Houses of Congress." Mr. How- 
ard replied with animation : "We can ! Now is the time. 
None can be more propitious. The people are with us, and 
if we give them a chance they will demolish slavery at a 
blow. Let us try!" 

In January, 1865, Mr. Howard was reelected to the 
Senate for the full term commencing on the 4th of March 
of that year. The successes of our arms in the southwest, 
and the hope of converting rebels into Union men there, 
had induced President Lincoln to send General Banks with 
a large force to New Orleans, and by formal instructions to 
invest him with authority to hold, under his own military 
orders, elections of members of new state conventions, to 
result finally in the reconstruction of the state governments. 
This strange plan of reconstruction required the assent of 
only one-tenth of the white voters. The crudest and most 
unsatisfactory of all plans of reconstruction, it went into 

275 



Civil- WAR Echoes — Character 



operation in Louisiana, and was, in truth, the suggestion of 
that stupendous plan of usurpation of the powers of Con- 
gress under pretense of reconstructing the rebel states 
afterward, in the summer of 1865, attempted to be carried 
out by Andrew Johnson, when he became President by the 
assassination of Mr. Lincoln. A joint resolution for the 
recognition of Louisiana, organized under the military or- 
ders of General Banks, came before the Senate from the 
Judicary Committee, and was the subject of animated and 
elaborate discussion. 

Mr. Howard opposed it, and on the 25th of February, 
1865, delivered a speech in which he fully and clearly dem- 
onstrated, that in the reconstruction of the seceded states 
the authority of Congress was supreme and exclusive, and 
that the Executive as such was invested with no authority 
whatever. He insisted that by seceding from the Union, 
and in making war upon the Government, the rebel states 
became enemies in the sense of the laws of nations, and 
thus forfeited their rights and privileges as states; that, 
consequently, when subdued by the arms of the Govern- 
ment, they were "conquered/' and lay at the mercy of 
their conquerors, for exactly the same reason as prevails 
in cases of international wars ; that it pertained to the law- 
making power of the United States, not to the President, 
to deal with the subjugated communities, and that Congress 
in its own discretion was to judge of the time and mode 
of readmitting them as states of the Union. And this is 
the doctrine that has practically and finally prevailed, after 
a most gigantic struggle between the two branches of the 
Government. 

In the reconstruction legislation of 1867 and 1868, the 
principles of constitutional law, thus aflHrmed by Mr. How- 
ard, were fully recognized and put into practise; for that 
legislation rests exclusively upon the ground that Con- 

276 



Sketches and State Secrets 



gress, and not the President, is vested with the power of 
reorganizing the rebel states. 

During the session of 1865-6, he served on the Joint Com- 
mittee on Reconstruction, one of whose duties was to in- 
quire and report on the condition of the rebel states. For 
convenience, the committee divided them into several dis- 
tricts, and to Mr. Howard was assigned Virginia, North 
Carolina, and South Carolina. The voluminous report of 
this committee, containing the testimony of the numerous 
witnesses examined, shows the extent of their labors and 
the perplexing nature of the subjects committed to them. 

As the principal result of their labors, they submitted to 
Congress a proposition to amend the Constitution, now 
known as the Fourteenth Article ; a most important amend- 
ment, which, after thorough discussion, in which Mr. How- 
ard took a leading part, passed both Houses of Congress, 
and was submitted to the state legislatures for ratification. 
Had it been ratified by the state governments of the rebel 
states, inaugurated by the executive proclamation of Mr. 
Johnson, all the troubles that followed would have been 
averted. But that singular man and a majority of his 
cabinet strenuously opposed and defeated it in those bodies. 
The result is known. Forced to vindicate their own author- 
ity, and to prevent anarchy in those states. Congress, in 
March, 1867, enacted the first of that series of statutes 
known as the Reconstruction Acts, by which they declared 
those states without legal governments, and subjected 
them to a quasi-military rule until proper state constitu- 
tions could be formed on the principle of impartial sufifrage 
of whites and blacks, and until Congress should formally 
readmit them. In the earnest struggle to uphold this legis- 
lation, Mr. Howard was ever at his post of duty. 

He drew the report of the Committee on Military Af- 
fairs, on the removal of Honorable Edwin M. Stanton, Sec- 
retary of War, by President Johnson, strongly condemning 

277 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



that act, and exposing Mr. Johnson's complicity in the 
"New Orleans Riots." 

When the contest between the two branches of the Gov- 
ernment resulted in the impeachment of Mr. Johnson by 
the House of Representatives, Mr. Howard — who was 
Chairman of the Senate Impeachment Committee — voted 
the accused guilty of the high crimes and misdemeanors 
charged in the articles of impeachment. 

He is a man of medium stature — five feet, ten inches in 
height ; chest, 44 inches ; weight, about 200 pounds ; head, 
23^ inches ; and has much power of endurance. He is an 
eloquent speaker and a formidable antagonist in debate. 
He is as exemplary in his private life as honorable in his 
public career. — ("Barnes' Fortieth Congress/') 



278 




U. S. SENATOR JACOB M. HOWARD, MICHIGAN 

FORMERLY, MEMBER OF THE XXVII U. S. CONGRESS 

ATTORNEY-GENERAL (1854-61) OF MICHIGAN 

AUTHOR OF FIRST PLATFORM OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY 

AND OF THE THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT TO U. S. CONSTITUTION 



DEATH OF HON. JACOB M. HOWARD 

At a session of the Supreme Court, held at the court 
room, in the City of Detroit, on the seventh day of April, 
in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-one: 

Present — Hon. James V. Campbell, Chief Justice. 

Hon. Isaac P. Christiancy, ^ 

Hon. Benjamin F. Graves, V Associate Justices. 

Hon. Thomas M. Cooley, j 

His excellency. Gov. Baldwin; Hon. John W. Longyear, 
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern 
District of Michigan ; Hon. Daniel Goodwin, Circuit Judge 
of the Eleventh Circuit, and Hon. Jared Patchin, Circuit 
Judge of the Third Circuit, were seated with the justices. 

Attorney General May addressed the Court: 

May it please the Court: The unpleasant duty of an- 
nouncing to this honorable Court the recent death of the 
Hon. Jacob M. Howard has been assigned to me by the 
bar of the state. I am also charged with the duty of pre- 
senting to your Honors a series of resolutions, unanimously 
adopted at a meeting of the bar, expressing sentiments of 
great regret at the sudden demise of our late brother, and 
paying a fitting tribute of respect to his memory as a pro- 
found lawyer, erudite scholar, and accomplished statesman. 

Indeed, so full and complete are these resolutions, and 
so just in their estimate of his mental qualities, and so ac- 
curate in their analysis of the character of Mr. Howard as 
a man, a lawyer, and a statesman, that whatever I may say 
I feel will only detract from their force and effect. 

280 



Sketches and State Secrets 



The name of Jacob M. Howard is a household word in 
Michigan. Tliere is no man within its borders so poor or so 
ignorant who is not familiar with that name. During all 
its years of existence he has been one of its strong pillars 
of support, and has left the impression of his great mind 
upon its wonderful growth and prosperity. He grew up 
into perfect manhood within its borders, and has been 
closely identified with every interest tending toward its 
development. 

No wonder, then, that he loved his adopted state, with 
a tenderness of affection never excelled and seldom 
imitated. 

He was a man of mark. The stranger stopped and 
looked at him, and instinctly received the impression that 
he was in the presence of a man of great physical and men- 
tal power. He was a true man — true to his clients, true to 
his convictions, true to all the great and varied interests 
committed to his care by an intelligent and confiding con- 
stituency. He was true to his country when armed treason 
sought its life, and he loved his country and its institutions 
with a zeal that amounted to a passion. 

He united the simplicity of the child with the strength 
of the lion. The constitution of his mind was such that 
he loved truth, right, and justice, for their own sakes, and 
loathed and spurned deception and fraud with a strength 
rarely equaled. 

Amid all the rancor and hate engendered by partisan 
strife during the past few years, no man could honestly 
charge Mr. Howard with trickery or dishonesty. However 
much his great powers may have enriched others — he died 
POOR. With advantages for gain possessed by few — com- 
mencing the practice of the law nearly forty years ago, and 
acknowledged by common consent by the bar to be a leader 
in the profession, yet he died poor. Actively engaged in 
the Congress of the nation at a time when, it is said, and 

281 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



sometimes believed, that others grew rich, still he died 
POOR. Proud words these to adorn the monument of the 
dead statesman. No man could desire a more fitting epi-* 
taph. They speak volumes for his honesty and indicate 
that whoever else may have worshiped mammon, and en- 
riched themselves at the expense of the Government, Jacob 
M. Howard always kept strictly within the golden rule. In- 
deed, like Webster, whom he strongly resembled, he cared 
quite too litle for gold and silver and the accumulation of 
wealth. He worshiped at no such shrine. 

With a strong mind in a sound body — early trained to 
severe discipline — and enriched by ancient and modern liter- 
ature — united with a fine presence, and a wonderful com- 
mand of pure English, few men were his equals at the bar, 
in the forum, or on the hustings. His death is a great pub- 
lic loss, and will be mourned by thousands throughout the 
length and breadth of this continent — and by none more 
sincerely than by a recently enfranchised race, whose earnest 
and eloquent friend he lived and died. 

But I will no longer detain the Court. There are others 
present who can more fittingly portray the many excellent 
qualities of our dead friend and brother, and who are more 
familiar with his early history. I now have the honor to 
present the resolutions adopted by the bar, and in its 
name and behalf ask that they be spread upon the records 
of the Court. 

Resolved, i That the members of this bar have learned 
with deep sorrow of the sudden death of one of their oldest 
associates, Jacob M. Howard, who has been suddenly smit- 
ten by death, while yet apparently in the full possession of 
his mental and bodily powers, after having with preeminent 
ability, filled the highest professional and legislative posi- 
tions, and that the discharge of a public duty, as well as 
the promptings of our private feeling, lead us to attempt to 

282 



Sketches and State Secrets 



give expression to our estimate of his character, capacity, 
and services. 

2. That in his long professional career, Mr. Howard ex- 
hibited great legal talent and sound and extensive learning. 
He came here in 1832 and soon after commenced practice. 
He witnessed the growth of our political institutions and 
of our jurisprudence. He aided in their development as a 
legislator. Always devoted to his clients, yet never unfair 
toward an opponent; well prepared on the law and the 
facts of his cases, he was second to no one at the bar as an 
effective advocate and convincing lawyer. His power of 
condensed, lucid, vigorous statement was remarkable. It 
left little for further discussion. It was in itself exposition 
and argument. The strength of his convictions, his earnest 
manner, his transparent and forcible diction, gave him great 
power and success. He was emphatically a strong man ; of 
robust and massive intellect, and with corresponding physi- 
cal appearance and manner of delivery. His elevation to 
the office of Attorney General, and his retention of it for 
three terms, followed naturally the accession of his party 
to political control. He was, as a lawyer, their foremost 
man, and recognized as such by general consent. 

3. As a statesman he had an opportunity of exhibiting 
his qualities in the legislature of this State and in Con- 
gress. He was elected to the House of Representatives, 
and subsequently, after an election in 1862 for the unexpired 
portion of Gov. Bingham's term, he was, in 1865, elected 
for the next full term to the Senate of the United States. 
There he was recognized at once as one of the ablest of 
its members. He was placed at the head of the Committee 
on the Pacific Railroad, was one of the Judiciary Committee, 
of the Military Committee, and also of the Committee on 
Private Land Claims, and of the Committee on the Rebel 
States. In all these, as in the discharge of his general duties 
as senator, he evinced great ability and exerted great influ- 

283 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



ence. His name is inseparably connected with the momen- 
tous legislation and constitutional changes of the last ten 
years. He was, in fact, and was admitted to be, without 
a superior and with few peers in the Senate. His manner 
of speaking in public was part of his intellectual character. 
It was strong, terse, incisive, direct, and earnest; and his 
delivery ever evinced sincere and deep conviction. Hence 
he always commanded attention and made deep 
impressions. 

4. As a man, and a neighbor, and a friend, those who 
knew Mr. Howard best were most attached to him. Though 
apparently somewhat distant and reserved, he had a kindly 
and affectionate temper, and social disposition. He was 
confiding and unsuspicious in his intercourse with others. 
He was noted for strict integrity in public and private 
matters, and with unsurpassed opportunities for specu- 
lation and accumulating wealth, is understood to have died 
comparatively poor. His intellectual tastes were refined 
and cultivated. He was an excellent classical scholar ; was 
conversant with the language and literature of France,* 
aid was familiar with the best English writers, and es- 
pecially with poetry and history. 

Whether we regard him as a lawyer, statesman, scholar, 
or citizen, 

"He was a man take him for all in all." 

5. That the Attorney General of the state be requested 
to present these resolutions to the Supreme Court of this 
state, and that the District Attorney of the United States 
be requested to present them to the Circuit Court of the 
United States. 

6. That the secretary send to the family of Mr. Howard 
a copy of these resolutions. 



*In 1847, he published a translation of "Secret Memoirs of the 
Empress Josephine"; two volumes. 

284 



Sketches and State Secrets 



7. That we will attend the funeral of the deceased and 
wear the usual badge of mourning. 

Remarks were ofifered by Mr. Theodore Romeyn, Mr. 
Levi Bishop, Mr. D. Bethune Duffield, Mr. Hovey K. 
Clarke, and Mr. Henry M. Cheever. 

THE CHIEF JUSTICE: 

The Court will accede very willingly to the suggestion 
of the bar, and they will order the resolutions that have 
been presented to be spread at large upon the records, and 
also to be published in the next volume of their reports. 
But it would hardly be proper for those who have stood 
in such relations to Mr. Howard as we have, to stop at 
any mere formal expression of that sort. The sense of 
this bereavement has come upon us with the force of a 
personal sorrow. We have all of us knov/n him — some of 
us very long — some of us very intimately. We have met 
him at the bar as allies, and we have met him as an an- 
tagonist, and I need not say to any of you that no better 
ally was ever found in the trial of a cause, and that no 
man need ever desire to find a more formidable antagonist. 
If he did not, as has been suggested, possess that sort of an 
intellect that would enable him to wield the slender scimeter 
of Saladin to sever the gauzy veil that was not worth 
serving, he was able to wield the ponderous battle-axe of 
THE LION-HEARTED^ before which iron and steel went down 
like wood. 

We have been honored by his personal friendship. We 
have felt honored in the honors that have been bestowed 
upon him vicariously, when he, as the representative of 
our state, has stood forth in a body where there are 
some great men, than whom he certainly was not inferior. 
He met none but peers there at the best. No man over- 
shadowed his fame while he was in the United States Sen- 

28s 



Civil- v/AR Echoes — Character 



ate. It is well for Mr. Howard's memory that the lauda- 
tions and eulogiums that have been bestowed upon him on 
all sides, and by men of all beliefs, have not been indis- 
criminating. Indiscriminating eulogy is of very little ser- 
vice to any man's fame. After all that has been said by 
honest friends and honest foes, enough is left to show a 
grand, an eminent character, and one which will not be- 
come dimmer as time goes on. Such faults as Mr. How- 
ard had were the faults which belong very naturally to a 
man of strong character. Such virtues as he had are pos- 
sessed by few, and the eminence that he attained is not 
to be attained by all. 

It has never seemed to me a very wise thing, nor a very 
appropriate thing, to speak of our American statesmen in 
comparison with the statesmen of other countries, or of 
olden times, as a second this man, or a second that man. 
It has always seemed to me that they are able to stand 
alone, and I think, as time goes on, Mr. Howard's great- 
ness will appear still greater in the eyes of our children 
than it can possibly appear in the eyes of his own genera- 
tion. And if they should be unwise enough to seek for 
parallels and prototypes in Greek and Roman history, per- 
haps they may find in him something that may remind them 
of what Cato would have been if he had lived in later 
times and in a Christian commonwealth. 

When this Court received its present organization Mr. 
Howard was Attorney General of the state, and of course 
we were brought into official, and also into close personal 
connection with him. There was not a member of the 
bench, as at first organized, who was not an old acquaint- 
ance and friend, and our intercourse therefore was particu- 
larly agreeable. There were also at that time, perhaps, 
more than there have been since, a large number of cases 
of great importance, some of which had been accumulating 
for a considerable time — and the amount of business that 

286 



Sketches and State Secrets 



was thrown upon him in the Supreme Court was very- 
great. He displayed, in the treatment of those cases, those 
qualities which have been so freely described by the mem- 
bers of the bar — qualities which showed him to be a master 
in the law. Nor in the treatment of those cases did those 
apparent defects in his intellectual character, that have 
been spoken of, appear as defects at all. Indeed, if he 
had possessed those qualities in a more marked degree, he 
would not have accomplished what he did accomplish in 
obtaining the ends of substantial justice. He was a man, 
as you all know, who was thoroughly grounded in the old 
principles of the common law, but he was no slavish ad- 
mirer of a principle simply because the common law, or any 
branch of the law, laid it down. He had sense and judg- 
ment enough to discriminate between living principles and 
dead principles, and he never undertook to galvanize into 
life the dead principles of the law ; but, holding on closer 
to those living principles that would apply in all ages and 
generations, he made the law a science of justice and of 
power, and turned it to good ends, and did not allow it, at 
least in his hands, to turn into any bad channels. 

Mr. Howard's style of legal eloquence was very remark- 
able. He never appeared in a court of justice except with 
great gravity of demeanor, not one that was put on for 
the occasion, but one that was natural to a man who felt 
impressed with the feeling that he was a minister of jus- 
tice, and his diction was of that lofty kind that, applied to 
lesser subjects, would have been very inappropriate, and 
applied by lesser men would have had very little effect. 
But when behind his ponderous language, was his ponder- 
ous intellect, and when every word that he said had its 
meaning, and every idea came out with all the force that 
language could give, then those rounded periods had some- 
thing of magic in them, and there was as much gained, per- 
haps, by that manner of his, as could be gained by any of 

287 



Civil- WAR Echoes — Character 



the aids of rhetoric that have ever been devised. But I 
will not suppose it necessary or desirable that I should 
dwell here upon these things that have come to every one's 
notice in his practise at the bar, and with which all who 
have ever known him have been very familiar. To my 
mind there was a side to Mr. Howard's character in which 
he appeared to quite as great an advantage, in which, if his 
example could be happily followed by those who are now 
coming on to the stage, I think a great deal of good might 
be done to this generation and many future generations. 
Mr. Howard zvas, I think, the best specimen of the natural 
product of American institutions, in their best form, that 
we ever have had among us. He was a man whose 
development was peculiarly American, and he had an utter 
contempt for those imported foibles which have sapped 
and destroyed the energy of so many republics in olden 
times, and which, if they were allowed to run here, as they 
have run there, will give us trouble enough, and give our 
children enough in maintaining the integrity of our insti- 
tutions. 

Mr. Howard was not an ascetic. He never despised the 
rational enjoyments of life. He never despised or under- 
rated any embellishment or acquisition of civilized life, but 
only despised those enjoyments, and those recreations, and 
those shows and frivolities, which instead of exalting, sap 
and destroy the vigor of civilized life, and of all healthy 
existence. He did not respect that power which wealth 
possesses, of making display and show, whereby feeble 
minds might be led into mischief, and whereby domineer- 
ing minds are enabled to become vested with power that 
they do not deserve. He did respect the uses to which 
wealth can be put, for private benefit, and for public ad- 
vancement. But in his private life he was a model of 
manly simplicity, a perfect representative of what republi- 
can institutions should bring forth. He lived plainly, he 

288 



Sketches and State Secrets 



dressed plainly; he had no false dignity, as it is sometimes 
very carelessly called, which would lead him to regard 
any man except upon his own merits. He could always 
find pleasure and profit in associating with any man, what- 
ever might be his station, and whatever might be his 
wealth or accomplishments. He was as much at home by 
the fireside of the poorest and plainest man, as he was in 
the house of luxury, and wherever he went, there was no 
overpowering sense of dignity attending him, but the qual- 
ity which makes all men regard others, who acted as he 
did, as friends and companions, forgetting, for the time, 
that there is any difference in station or position, and re- 
membering only those qualities that put them upon the 
footing of a common humanity, and give them those in- 
terests that are common to all the world, and that never, 
die. 

Mr. Howard, while he possessed this plainness, and while 
he despised all those things that are despicable, had a most 
hearty admiration for everything that could really illus- 
trate and embellish. As a scholar I kneiv no one zvhose 
reading was more extensive or select. There was no 
branch of scholarship that he despised or neglected. He 
read history and the more solid branches of reading. He 
did not despise works of imagination. He delighted in 
poetry and song; he explored, as far as was possible for 
a man in his busy life, all of the arcana of science, and 
whatever he read, and whatever he learned, he made his 
own and incorporated it in the store of his own knowledge. 
He was an enthusiastic lover of music ; he was an intelli- 
gent and cultivated critic of art, and no man ever enjoyed 
refined society more, and no man ever did a better part in 
performing his functions and doing his best to aid others 
in the enjoyment and delights of society ; and although in 
his public acts he never lost the gravity nor the sobriety of 
demeanor that so well become one engaged in great pur- 

20 289 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



suits, in private life he was very genial. He had a very 
keen sense of humor. He enjoyed everything, in other 
words, that all healthy minds enjoy, and there was not a 
morbid spot, that I know of, in any part of Mr. Howard's 
existence. 

In his love for his family and his friends there was some- 
thing much more than is usual. His attachment to his 
family has more than once prevented him from taking ad- 
vancement that has been oflfered him. It is, unless I am 
greatly mistaken, but a very short time since, when, purely 
to avoid leaving his family, he refused to accept a position, 
and, I am not sure but more than one position, which 
would have been courted by any man, and which was not 
beneath his ability. His proverbial attachment to his 
friends is well known in this community. Indeed, as has 
been suggested by a member of the bar, it perhaps went 
far enough to be a weakness ; but such weaknesses are 
certainly not to be despised, and they show a good heart 
behind them. We can not imagine that they went far 
enough to interfere with the dignity or the grandeur of 
his character, nor can any one believe that they will inter- 
fere with or lessen his fame in coming generations. 

His determination, under all circumstances, so far as 
was in him, to bring about that which he thought ought to 
be brought about, was one of those features in his char- 
acter which certainly deserves the highest commendation. 
He was alzvays willing to hide his time. He never desired 
to advance things until they were ready to be advanced, 
but when he had once made up his mind that the end was 
desirable, and that it was within the possibility of things to 
bring that end about, no man ever saw him falter until the 
end was attained. 

It is hardly desirable, on such an occasion as this, to re- 
cur very much to individual recollections, but I can not ab- 
stain from referring to one, which I think was in entire 

290 



Sketches and State Secrets 



accord with his character, and one which perhaps may 
afford a key to a great many things that have been done 
by Mr. Howard, which have been criticised, and which 
have been praised, according as different men have viewed 
the same things with different prepossessions. Being a 
near neighbor of Mr. Howard while he was in the city, 
it was very common for us to spend more or less of each 
day together, going up and down from our respective 
abodes, engaged in conversation. I remember meeting him 
on the day when the news of the first battle of Bull Run 
was received. You all know very well how that struck 
this community. Our first regiment, the flower of our 
youth, all of us having many devoted friends in it, was 
cut down at the front. Gen, Wilcox was left on the field, 
and his fate was uncertain, and many others to whom we 
were fondly attached were there, and no one could tell 
whether they were living or whether they were dead, 
whether they were free or whether they were in the hands 
of the enemy. The whole city was absorbed in grief. I 
met Mr. Howard as I came away from the telegraph office. 
His eyes were full of tears, and his whole frame shook with 
emotion. We stopped, and in a few earnest words, that 
he could hardly utter for his emotion, he expressed calmly 
and quietly his sense of the great disaster that had corne 
upon us, and also the sorrowful conviction that he felt, 
that we now had work to do that would try us, in all of our 
fortitude, but that that work must be done and success 
must be pursued until it was gained. So Mr. Howard 
acted in all things. He was conscientiously determined 
in all things, to do that which he believed to be right, and 
whether his judgment was right or whether his judgment 
was wrong, in following different results, no man can say 
that in any of his mighty efforts he swerved for an instant 
from that which he believed, at all events, to be demanded 
by the good of the country. 

291 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



He zvas a man who represented better than any man 
I have ever known in this community, and somezvhat as 
the lamented Mr. Lincoln did, the great popular common 
sense of the people. He zvas remarkable for reflecting that. 
You could almost always be sure that as an ordinary matter 
struck Mr. Howard, so it struck the average sense of the 
community, at least when passion was over, and when 
the time for sober reflection of those emotions and 
those feelings that actuated the great mass of mankind, I 
think that we can find in that peculiar trait of his char- 
acter one very great reason for his great success. When 
he spoke to a jury he knew how everything would strike 
that jury ; when he addressed a court, if that court pos- 
sessed ordinary qualifications and common sense, he knew 
how those ideas would strike the court, and that they would 
understand them. When he addressed the Senate or when 
he addressed the larger audiences of the people of the 
United States, in like manner he knew that what he said 
would go right home to their hearts, and that they, at all 
events, would appreciate and understand him, whether 
they did or not agree with him in that which he was 
seeking to bring about. And I think myself that when 
time has made his memory a thing of the past — when his 
fame has become the property of future generations, al- 
though he may be remembered as a great man, although 
he may be remembered for his learning, for his eloquence, 
and for the qualities that have struck most admiration into 
the great mass of mankind, he will be still further 

VENERATED AND REMEMBERED AS A REPRESENTATIVE AMERI- 
CAN, WHO VALUED ABOVE ALL OTHER THINGS THE GREAT 
AND ESSENTIAL PRINCIPLES OF MANHOOD. — FrOUl the 20th 

Vol. Appendix: Michigan Supretne Court Reports. 



292 



Sketches and State Secrets 



THE FUNERAL SERVICES 

"The funeral services of Mr. Howard took place yesterday 
afternoon, and drew out an immense concourse of people — 
fully as large as any similar occasion in this city has ever 
done. Flags were displayed at half mast on the post-office 
building, new city hall, hotels, printing offices, and on various 
buildings throughout the city. During the afternoon the 
public offices were closed, as were many places of business 
during the passage of the procession to the grave. The 
sidewalks were thronged with people, drawn thither evi- 
dently by no idle curiosity, but to testify their respect to the 
memory of the deceased. 

After appropriate religious exercises at the house, the 
remains were removed at half-past 2 o'clock p. m. to the 
Fort Street Congregational Church, at which place had 
previously repaired in a body the governor, who had come 
all the way from Lansing to attend the funeral, and the com- 
mittee of the state legislature, committees sent from other 
cities to attend the funeral, the city officers, and members 
of the common council, the judges and members of the bar, 
the Detroit Board of Trade, and the colored people. These 
latter came in a body, to the number of several hundred, all 
wearing badges of mourning, and expressing by their sad 
countenances the sincerity of their sorrow. A great multi- 
tude of people had assembled at the church, but only a small 
proportion were able to gain admission. 

SERVICES AT THE CHURCH 

The services at the church were very impressive, and were 
attended by a vast concourse of people. The body of the 
church pews was reserved for the various delegations, and 
family friends, the side seats being filled — at an early hour — 

293 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



by citizens generally. About 2 130 o'clock the funeral cor- 
tege entered the church in the following order : First, the 
family relatives and immediate friends. Next, the body was 
borne in, the following named gentlemen acting as pall- 
bearers : Alanson Sheley, Robert McClelland, A. D. Frazer, 
G. V. N. Lothrop, Theodore Romeyn, E. B. Ward, Philo 
Parsons, N. W, Brooks, A. B. Maynard, Giles Hubbard, D. 
E. Harbaugh, S. M. Holmes. 

Then came the judges of the Supreme Court, Governor 
Baldwin, and officers of the state, members of the legislature, 
and members of the Detroit bar, all of whom were seated 
on the left side of the center aisle. On the right were the 
common council, judges and officers of the city and Detroit 
courts, and a large delegation of colored citizens. On the 
right of the side aisle were a large delegation of the mem- 
bers of the Union League, and friends of the deceased from 
various, and, in some cases, remote parts of the state, many 
of them gentlemen of prominence. The seats which were 
not entirely occupied by the various delegations were offered 
to the numerous assemblage, who filled the aisles and vesti- 
bule of the church and crowded the steps outside. The 
services were opened by the Rev. Mr. Ballard, pastor of the 
church, by prayer, after which the chant "I am the man that 
hath seen affliction," was sung by the choir. Several selec- 
tions of Scripture were read by Mr. Ballard, from Genesis 
XV. I Samual xii, and the Epistle to the Philippians ii. 

The Rev. Dr. Hogarth then delivered the funeral sermon, 
choosing as his text, Isaiah iii; i, 2, 3: 

"For behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away 
from Jerusalem and from Judah, the stay and the staff, the 
whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water. The 
mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, 
and the prudent, and the ancient. The captain of fifty, 
and the honorable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning 
artificer, and the eloquent orator." 

294 



Sketches and State Secrets 



"We are," he said, "gathered together to-day in the house 
of God, as citizens to pay respects to the memory of one 
who has dwelt with us long. In various ways has the 
memory of him, who was one of us, been respected. The 
governor of the state has called upon the legislature to recog- 
nize in a fitting manner the sad occasion, the judges of the 
courts and members of the bar have, too, expressed their 
reverence in a peculiarly appropriate and fitting manner. 
To-day, as we are gathered together, all our separate inter- 
ests and feelings yield, as it were, to the voice of death. At 
such a time the deeper and truer feelings of our nature come 
to the surface. 

"To our brother — now deceased — his fellowmen, while he 
was living, accorded praise as an advocate, counselor and 
statesman. He was, too, a most scholarly man, as well as a 
statesman, and a most earnest seeker after knowledge. 
Business of no kind ever deprived him of the time for self 
culture, and he was always a hard worker, never retiring 
from the strife and study of life. His earnest devotion to 
literature, language^ both ancient and modern, gave a flavor 
to his speech and language at once pleasing and gratifying in 
its uniqueness. 

"But it is more particularly as a public man that we should 
speak of him here. He was, in the first place, most eminently 
a statesman, and leaves behind an unhlotted record. In the 
dark hour of his country's peril and danger he boldly and 
firmly took and maintained his place as a defender of all 
those rights which the Constitution defined as such. In 
the knowledge and research of general and constitutional 
law he was equaled by few, and was a man of marked 
ability. When he had become firmly convinced of certain 
principles, he accepted the issue of those principles, sinking 
self to accomplish all that was good or grand. His decis- 
ions were always expected to be weighty, and were so, be- 
cause they were freighted with sincere convictions, which 

295 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



were the result of research and reflection. He was a great 
public debater. First, because of the cast of his mind, and 
second, because of his habits and extensive reading, and also 
from his great knowledge of political principles. He was 
also a patient-minded man; indeed his calling, his profes- 
sion demanded that quality, and he always knew whether his 
investigations, made with the most patient research, referred 
to truth or principle. With all this he was a compact 
speaker, he condensed in a small space whatever he had to 
say on any and all occasions. It would not be said, proba- 
bly, by many, that he was a popular orator. He was not 
gifted, to a great extent, with great imaginative powers. 
But he well knew that truth would forever stand where the 
mere emotion would have long ago lost its influence. Often 
in public speaking, it has seemed to me that he cared nothing, 
either to obtain the interest or good opinion of those whom 
he addressed, but principle zvas alzifays foremost in his 
mind. 

"In his style of speaking, he was decidedly forensic and 
senatorial, indeed his papers, on even minor and less im- 
portant topes, read like state papers. When he spoke, and 
in earnest — as he most invariably did — there was no trifling. 
His words fell like trip-hammers, and men quivered beneath 
the strokes. Of him it has been truly said, he zvas an hon- 
est man. His opinion was held the same, whether with the 
few or many, openly, truthfully and frankly. It had been 
said of him while living, that he was reserved, morose, and 
unapproachable. But if he was reserved, it was not from 
that cause, and he was always approachable. He was, as 
is the case with great thinkers, generally absorbed and occu- 
pied with other things, and would often pass through the 
streets, seeing or hearing no one, his whole mind wrapped 
in the contemplation of some absorbing theme. 

"His private life is not known, perhaps, to the many, but 
I have known him for many years, and on all topics and sub- 



Sketches and State Secrets 



jects was he frank and unreserved. His private charities 
zvere large, and it may be truly said of him that his tvas a 
large and generous heart. I think perhaps his intellectual 
nature was much the strongest and most predominant. But, 
as with such men, whenever the emotional overcomes the 
intellectual part, the former proves the stronger in the end, 
and, like the onward rush of the tidal wave, sweeps away 
all barriers, of whatever kind of strength. 

"To the needy he was always charitable, and his hand and 
heart were ever open to the poor and oppressed, who were 
never turned away. In his private life he tvas not ostenta- 
tious. He was surrounded in his home by plenty and com- 
fort, and its adornments were pleasant and comfortable, but 
were never sacrificed to mere show, and thus quietly and 
plainly he lived and died. 

"We, as a people, have a right to mourn him to-day. The 
great gifts and powers of a man were not bestowed upon 
him for self alone, but for the benefit of his fellowmen. 
Some men belong to trade, commerce, and society, but few 
are born who, like him, belong to a nation. In his life we 
may read and learn a useful lesson, and in his death a warn- 
ing to be prepared, 'for ye know not the day or the hour 
the Son of Man cometh.' " 

After the close of the sermon the 1 183d hymn, "I Would 
Not Live Always," was sung, and prayer offered by Mr. 
Ballard. 

An invitation was extended to all those present to take 
a farewell look at the face of the dead, and nearly the whole 
assemblage passed in front of the coffin, the various delega- 
tions going first, after which came hundreds of citizens. 

THE PROCESSION TO ELMWOOD 

was a very large one. First came a squad of police to 
clear the passage, and following close after them was the 
Light Guard Band, which played solemn dirges. Then fol- 

297 



Civil-war Echoes — Character 



lowed the hearse and a Hne of fifty carriages. Also escort- 
ing the remains were the legislative committee, the bar, 
board of trade, colored people, etc. The streets were filled 
with spectators of the passing cortege. 

The remains were interred at a beautiful spot in Elmwood 
by the side of the members of Mr. Howard's family, gone 
before. The body was slowly lowered to its final resting 
place, the last sad rites of respect were paid, and the pro- 
cession retraced its steps to the busy, busthng city," — Detroit 
Free Press. 



Executive Mansion 

Washington, D. C, April 3, 1871. 
My Dear Mr. Howard: 

In your sudden and deep affliction it may not ease a single pain 
to know that we all feel deeply with you in the great bereavement, 
but it will make me feel better to write you a short note to tell 
you how much pained we all are. 

The President and Mrs. Grant have both called my attention to 
the Nation's loss — in the death of your honored father. 

In the sadness we must remember that only the body is dead; his 
works will live after him, as long as republican institutions and 
freedom exist. 

Senator Nye paid him a handsome tribute in our office this morn- 
ing when he said : "I sat beside him for years, and when it was 
the darkest and the lightning flashed the brightest he was 

THE COOLEST, AND ALWAYS READY FOR AN ENEMY OR A FRIEND. He 
WAS TRUE OAK.^' 

If to know in your sadness that the hearts of others are afflicted 
by the same cause, can ease your heart, you will find great relief, for 
we all mourn the Nation's loss. 
I am very truly. 

Your sincere friend, 

O. E. BABCOCK, 

(Brig. Gen. U. S. A.) 
To Mr. Hamilton G. Howard, Atty., etc., 
Detroit, Mich. 

298 



CHAPTER SEVEN . 
Maj. Gen. George A. Custer, U. S. Army 

IMPORTANT LETTERS FROM HIM TO SENATOR HOWARD, WRIT- 
TEN FROM THE FIELD 




MAJOR GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER, U. S. A. 




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